Calvin & Hobbes - Week of Mar 31st

http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/2008/03/31/

http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/2008/04/01/

http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/2008/04/02/

http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/2008/04/03/

http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/2008/04/04/

http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/2008/04/05/

http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/2008/04/06/

Interesting Human Body Facts That You Cannot Live Without

Thanks to Bill for this.
----------------------------
-The largest cell in the human body is the female egg and the smallest is the male sperm.

-A full bladder is roughly the size of a soft ball.

-It takes the food seven seconds to get from your mouth to your stomach.

-One human hair can support 3 kg (6 lb).

-Human thighbones are stronger than concrete.

-The attachment of human muscles to skin is what causes dimples.

-The average man's penis is three times the length of his thumb.

-A woman's heart beats faster than a man's.

-If the average male never shaved, his beard would be 13 feet long when he died.

-Men with hairless chests are more likely to get cirrhosis of the liver than men with hair .

-There are about one trillion bacteria on each of your feet.

-Side by side, 2000 cells from the human body could cover about one square inch.

-Women blink twice as often as men.

-The average person's skin weighs twice as much as the brain.

-When you are looking at someone you love, your pupils dilate. They do the same when you are looking at someone you hate!

-It takes twice as long to lose new muscle if you stop working out than it did to gain it.

-Your ears secrete more earwax when you are afraid than when you aren't.

-Your body uses 300 muscles to balance itself when you are standing still.

-If saliva cannot dissolve something, you cannot taste it.

-The average woman is five inches shorter than the average man.

Checked the length of your thumb didn't you?

Which Religion Will Win

Interesting story in The Atlantic about religion and the future.
http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200803/secularism

I think this can be viewed without a log-in. If not, let me know.

There are other articles on religion in the March issue, but I
haven't read them yet.

Study Links Middle-Age Belly Fat to Dementia

Thanks to Clyde for this.
------------------------------
By Rob Stein

Washington Post Staff Writer

Thursday, March 27, 2008

People who have big bellies in their 40s are much more likely to get Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia in their 70s, according to new research that links the middle-aged spread to a fading mind for the first time.

The study of more than 6,000 people found that the more fat they had in their guts in their early to mid-40s, the greater their chances of becoming forgetful and confused and showing other signs of senility as they aged. Those who had the most expansive midsections faced more than twice the risk of the leanest.

Surprisingly, a sizable stomach seems to increase the risk even among those who are not obese or even overweight, the researchers reported in a paper published online yesterday by the journal Neurology.

"A large belly, independent of total weight, is a potent predictor of dementia," said Rachel A. Whitmer, a research scientist at the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research in Oakland, Calif., who led the new study.

The findings are alarming in light of America's growing girth, Whitmer and other experts said.

"If these findings are replicated and better understood, it looks like an unhealthy brain could be another consequence of this epidemic of obesity," said Lenore Launer of the National Institute on Aging.

The research is the latest evidence that fat in the abdomen is the most dangerous kind. Previous studies have linked an apple-shaped physique to a greater propensity for diabetes, heart disease and stroke. Researchers suspect that belly fat cells are the worst because of their proximity to major organs. They ooze noxious chemicals, stoking inflammation, constricting blood vessels and triggering other processes that may also damage brain cells.

"There is a lot of work out there that suggests that the fat wrapped around your inner organs is much more metabolically active than other types of fat right under the skin," Whitmer said. "It's pumping out toxic substances. It's very potent toxic fat."

Whitmer and her colleagues analyzed data from 6,583 members of Kaiser Permanente of Northern California who had had their belly fat carefully calculated as part of a broad health study between 1964 and 1973. The researchers examined whether there was link between abdominal obesity between the ages of 40 and 45 and the chances of developing Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia by the time the patients hit their 70s, between 1994 and 2006.

The risk for dementia, the researchers found, increased steadily with the amount of fat in the abdomen, even after accounting for alternative explanations, such as other diseases, bad habits and lower education. They found no such association for fat in the thigh.

The researchers used a complicated method for measuring fat known as sagittal abdominal diameter (SAD). Those with a SAD score above 25 -- roughly equivalent to a waist of at least 39 inches -- had the biggest bellies and the greatest risk.

Previous studies have shown that people who are overweight are at increased risk for dementia. But when the researchers examined patients' body mass index (BMI), which is the most common way to determine whether someone is overweight or obese, they found that people with big bellies were still nearly twice as likely to develop dementia, even if they had BMIs that were considered healthy. In fact, their risk was about the same as for those who were overweight or obese.

"What that tells you is the effect of the belly is over and above of being overweight," Whitmer said. "One of the take-home messages is it's not just your weight, but where you carry your weight in middle age, that is a strong predictor of dementia."

Stomach fat may increase the risk for dementia in the same ways it promotes heart disease -- by boosting blood pressure and constricting blood flow, said Jose A. Luchsinger of Columbia University. He and others said it may also promote the accumulation of amyloid, a substance found in the brains of Alzheimer's patients.

"We think the buildup and clumping of this material is an important risk factor," said Sam Gandy of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, who chairs the Alzheimer's Association's medical and scientific advisory council. Previous research has found that people who are obese have higher levels of amyloid in their blood, he said.

Some experts remained skeptical, saying this kind of study cannot rule out the possibility that whatever is making people gain weight in their bellies in their 40s also puts them at risk for dementia in their 70s.

"There could be a connection. I'm not saying there couldn't be," said Barbara Corkery, director of Boston University's Obesity Research Center. "But it could be those two things are caused by the same root cause."

While acknowledging that more research is needed, Whitmer said the findings provide one more reason to try to maintain a healthy weight, noting that this type of fat is the most easily shed by dieting and exercise.

"It's not as stubborn as the fat under the skin," she said. "It's a modifiable risk factor."

You Did What to the Chicken?

Here's a funny video from the Jay Leno Tonight show about saving a chicken's life!

The link opens a Windows Media file.

http://paulw.gray.googlepages.com/Chicken.wmv

Petersburg High School Class of '66

This link has a picture from the 2005 Class Reunion, added to Classmates.com by Jim Parks. I went to Petersburg Elementary with this class, but left after 5th grade in 1959.

Here are names from other pictures in the album:
Fud Robertson, LaQuita Scarborough, Narcisso Gomez, Jerry Foote, Judy Martin, Joe Bob Mayo, Jim Parks, Alan Underwood, Jack Stanton?, Butch Finkner?, Gary Lloyd?, and others.

See if you recognize these people! I only knew a couple.

http://paulw.gray.googlepages.com/PHSClassof66-1.jpg

Go to this link to see all the pictures in this album:
http://photos.classmates.com//user/photoalbum/album.tf?type=hs&album_id=310318;profile_reg_id=1637385;My

Brain Quiz

Take this quiz! It's very revealing.

Thanks to Andy for sharing.

The link is a zip file and you can view it with WinZip or another zip software product. You shouldn't have to unzip it, just view.

http://paulw.gray.googlepages.com/Brain.zip

Easter Story

This is from my friend Larry.
-----------------------------------
This is a breathtakingly beautiful if not heart wrenching Power Point presentation. Words cannot express what Jesus did for mankind. Let us all remember the reason for Easter.

http://paulw.gray.googlepages.com/easter.pps

Vietnam Wall Video

This is about the sacrifices made by my generation in Vietnam, a look at the Wall Memorial off the mall in Washington. One of the most moving experiences of my life was to visit the Wall in person.

The link opens a video with your default player.

http://paulw.gray.googlepages.com/TheWall.asx

Thanks to Snuffy for sharing this.

The Three Trees

Once upon a mountain top, three little trees stood and dreamed of
what they wanted to become when they grew up. The first little tree
looked up at the stars and said: " I want to hold treasure. I want to
be covered with gold and filled with precious stones. I'll be the
most beautiful treasure chest in the world!" The second little tree
looked out at the small stream trickling by on it's way to the ocean.
" I want to be traveling mighty waters and carrying powerful kings.
I'll be the strongest ship in the world! The third little tree looked
down into the valley below where busy men and women worked in a busy
town. I don't want to leave the mountain top at all. I want to grow
so tall that when people stop to look at me they'll raise their eyes
to heaven and think of God. I will be the tallest tree in the world.

Years, passed. The rain came, the sun shone and the little trees grew
tall. One day three wood cutters climbed the mountain. The first wood
cutter looked at the first tree and said, "This tree is beautiful. It
is perfect for me." With a swoop of his shining ax, the first tree
fell. "Now I shall make a beautiful chest, I shall hold wonderful
treasure!" the first tree said.

The second wood cutter looked at the second tree and said, "This tree
is strong. It's perfect for me." With a swoop of his shining ax, the
second tree fell. "Now I shall sail mighty waters!" thought the
second tree. " I shall be a strong ship for mighty kings!"

The third tree felt her heart sink when the last wood cutter looked
her way. She stood straight and tall and pointed bravely to heaven.
But the wood cutter never even looked up. "Any kind of tree will do
for me." He muttered. With a swoop of his shining ax, the third tree fell.

The first tree rejoiced when the wood cutter brought her to a
carpenter's shop. But the carpenter fashioned the tree into a feed
box for animals. The once beautiful tree was not covered with gold,
or treasure. She was coated with saw dust and filled with hay for
hungry farm animals. The second tree smiled when the wood cutter took
her to a shipyard, but no mighty sailing ship was made that day.
Instead the once strong tree was hammered and awed into a simple
fishing boat. She was too small and too weak to sail to an ocean, or
even a river, instead she was taken to a little lake. The third tree
was confused when the wood cutter cut her into strong beams and left
her in a lumberyard. "What happened?" The once tall tree wondered. "
All I ever wanted was to stay on the mountain top and point to God..."

Many days and nights passed. The three trees nearly forgot their
dreams. But one night, golden starlight poured over the first tree as
a young woman placed her newborn baby in the feed box. "I wish I
could make a cradle for him." Her husband whispered. The mother
squeezed his hand and smiled as the starlight shone on the smooth and
sturdy wood. " This manger is beautiful." She said. And suddenly the
first tree knew he was holding the greatest treasure in the world.

One evening a tired traveler and his friends crowded into the old
fishing boat. The traveler fell asleep as the second tree quietly
sailed out into the lake. Soon a thundering and a thrashing storm
arose. The little tree shuddered. She knew she did not have the
strength to carry so many passengers safely through the wind and the
rain. The tired man awoke. He stood up, stretched out his hand, and
said, "Peace." The storm stopped as quickly as it had begun. And
suddenly the second tree knew he was carrying the king of heaven and earth.

One Friday morning, the third tree was startled when her beams were
yanked from the forgotten wood pile. She flinched as she was carried
through an angry jeering crowd. She shuddered when soldiers nailed a
man's hand to her. She felt ugly and harsh and cruel. But on Sunday
morning, when the sun rose and the earth trembled with joy beneath
her, the third tree knew that God's love had changed everything. It
had made the third tree strong. And every time people thought of the
third tree, they would think of God. That was better than being the
tallest tree in the world.

The next time you feel down because you didn't get what you wanted,
sit tight and be happy because God is thinking of something better to give you.

Brownie Recipe

This is from my friend Larry.
--------------------------------------
An Object lesson: Brownie recipe. Please be sure and read the entire
message, this applies to everyone, not just our kids.

BROWNIE RECIPE

A father of some teenage children had the family rule that they could
not attend PG-13, R or X rated movies. His three teens wanted to see
a particular popular movie that was playing at local theaters. It was
rated PG-13. The teens interviewed friends and even some members of
their family*s church to find out what was offensive in the movie.
The teens made a list of pros and cons about the movie to use to
convince their dad that they should be allowed to see it.

The cons were:

*It contained ONLY 3 swear words!

*The ONLY violence was a building exploding (and you see that on TV
all the time they said),

*You actually did not "see" the couple in the movie having sex, it
was just implied sex, off camera.

The pros were:

*It was a popular movie, (a blockbuster).
*Everyone was seeing it.

*If the teens saw the movie then they would not feel left out when
their friends discussed it.

*The movie contained a good story and plot.

*It had some great adventure and suspense in it.

*There were some fantastic special effects in this movie.

*The movie*s stars were some of the most talented actors in Hollywood .

*It probably would be nominated for several awards.

*Many members of their Christian church, including the pastor, had
even seen the movie and said it wasn*t really "that bad".

Therefore, since there were more pros than cons the teens asked their
father to reconsider his position on just this ONE movie and let them
have permission to go see it. The father looked at the list and
thought for a few minutes. He said he could tell his children had
spent some time and thought on this request. He asked if he could
have a day to think about it before making his decision. The teens
were thrilled, thinking, "Now we*ve got him! Our argument is too
good! Dad can*t turn us down!" So, they happily agreed to let him
have a day to think about their request. The next evening the Father
called his three teenagers, who were smiling smugly, into the living
room. There on the coffee table he had a plate of brownies. The teens
were puzzled. The father told his children he had thought about their
request and had decided that if they would eat the brownies, then he
would let them go to the movie. But, he explained, just like the
movie, the brownies had pros and cons.

The pros were :

*They were made with the finest chocolate and other good ingredients.

*They had the added special effect of yummy walnuts in them.

*The brownies were moist and fresh with wonderful chocolate frosting on top.

*He had made these fantastic brownies using an award-winning recipe.

*And best of all, the brownies had been made lovingly by the hand of
their own father.

The brownies only had one con :

*He had included a little bit of a special ingredient: The brownies
contained just a small amount of dog poop. But he had mixed the dough
well and they probably would not even be able to taste the dog poop
and he had baked it at 350 degrees so hopefully any bacteria or germs
from the dog poop had probably been destroyed. Therefore, if any of
his children could stand to eat the brownies which included just a
"little bit of crap" and not be affected by it, then he knew they
would also be able to see the movie with "just a little bit of smut"
and not be affected. Of course, none of the teens would eat the
brownies and the smug smiles had left their faces. Now when his
teenagers ask permission to do something he KNOWS THEY SHOULDN*T BE
DOING the father just asks, "Would you like me to whip up a batch of
my special brownies?"

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What Happens in Heaven

Thanks to Larry.
-------------------
This is one of the nicest e-mails I have seen and is so true:

I dreamt that I went to Heaven and an angel was showing me around. We walked side-by-side inside a large workroom filled with angels. My angel guide stopped in front of the first section and said, 'This is the Receiving Section. Here, all petitions to God said in prayer are received.'

I looked around in this area, and it was terribly busy with so many angels sorting out petitions written on voluminous paper sheets and scraps from people all over the world.

Then we moved on down a long corridor until we reached the second section.

The angel then said to me, 'This is the Packaging and Delivery Section. Here, the graces and blessings the people asked for are processed and delivered to the living persons who asked for them. 'I noticed again how busy it was there. There were many angels working hard at that station, since so many blessings had been requested and were being packaged for delivery to Earth.

Finally at the farthest end of the long corridor we stopped at the door of a very small station. To my great surprise, only one angel was seated there, idly doing nothing. 'This is the Acknowledgment Section,' my angel friend quietly admitted to me. He seemed embarrassed 'How is it that there is no work going on here?' I asked.

'So sad,' the angel sighed. 'After people receive the blessings that they asked for, very few send back acknowledgments .'

'How does one acknowledge God's blessings?' I asked.

'Simple,' the angel answered. Just say, 'Thank you, Lord.'

'What blessings should they acknowledge?' I asked.

'If you have food in the refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof overhead and a place to sleep you are richer than 75% of this world. If you have money in the bank, in your wallet, and spare change in a dish, you are among the top 8% of the world's wealthy '

'And if you get this on your own computer, you are part of the 1% in the world who has that opportunity.'

'If you woke up this morning with more health than illness ... You are more blessed than the many who will not even survive this day .'

'If you have never experienced the fear in battle, the loneliness of imprisonment, the agony of torture, or the pangs of starvation ... You are ahead of 700 million people in the world.'

'If you can attend a church without the fear of harassment, arrest, torture or death you are envied by, and more blessed than, three billion people in the world '

'If your parents are still alive and still married ...you are very rare .'

'If you can hold your head up and smile, you are not the norm, you're unique to all those in doubt and despair.'

Ok, what now? How can I start?

If you can read this message, you just received a double blessing in that someone was thinking of you as very special and you are more blessed than over two billion people in the world who cannot read at all.

Have a good day, count your blessings, and if you want, pass this along to remind everyone else how blessed we all are.

ATTN:

Acknowledge Dept.: 'Thank you Lord, for giving me the ability to share this message and for giving me so many wonderful people to share it with.'

Blessings with love

                                    Amen

Calvin & Hobbes - Week of Mar 24th

http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/2008/03/24/

http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/2008/03/25/

http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/2008/03/26/

http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/2008/03/27/

http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/2008/03/28/

http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/2008/03/29/

http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/2008/03/30/

Happy Easter All!

A man is driving along a highway and sees a rabbit jump out across
the middle of the road.

He swerves to avoid hitting it, but unfortunately the rabbit jumps
right in front of the car.

The driver, a sensitive man as well as an animal lover, pulls over
and gets out to see what has become of the rabbit. Much to his
dismay, the rabbit is the Easter Bunny, and he is DEAD .

The driver feels so awful that he begins to cry. A beautiful blonde
woman driving down the highway sees a man crying on the side of the
road and pulls over.

She steps out of the car and asks the man what's wrong.

"I feel terrible," ! he explains, "I accidentally hit the Easter
Bunny with my car and KILLED HIM."

The blonde says,"Don't worry."

She runs to her car and pulls out a spray can. She walks over to the
limp, dead Easter Bunny , bends down, and sprays the contents onto him.

The Easter Bunny jumps up, waves its paw at the two of them and
hops off down the road.

Ten feet away he stops, turns around and waves again,

he hops down the road another 10 feet, turns and waves,

hops another ten feet, turns and waves,

and repeats this again and again and again and again, until he hops
out of sight.

The man is astonished. He runs over to the woman and demands,

"What is in that can? What did you spray on the Easter Bunny ?"

The woman turns the can around so that the man can read the label.

It says..

(Are you ready for this?)

(Are you sure?)
(You know you're gonna be sorry)

(Last chance)

(OK, here it is)

It says,

"Hair Spray Restores life to dead hair, and adds permanent wave."

Happy Easter!!!

This email was cleaned by emailStripper, available for free from

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Operation Komando - Support the Troops

http://www.komando.com/operationkomando/

Volunteer - Celina

Here's an opportunity to help kids on some Saturday. My daughter
Jeni and I are doing this.

www.therapyriding.com/index.html

No Charge for Love

Thanks to Snuffy for this post.
-------------------------------------
A farmer had some puppies he needed to sell. He painted a sign advertising
The 4 pups. And set about nailing it to a post on the edge of his yard.
As he was driving the last nail into the post, he felt a tug on his
Overalls. He looked down into the eyes of little boy.

"Mister," he said, "I want to buy one of your puppies."

"Well," said the farmer, as he rubbed the sweat off the back of his
neck, "These puppies come from fine parents and cost a good deal of
Money."

The boy dropped his head for a moment. Then reaching deep into his pocket,
He pulled out a handful of change and held it up to the farmer.

"I've got thirty-nine cents. Is that enough to take a look?"

"Sure," said the farmer. And with that he let out a whistle.
"Here, Dolly!" he called.

Out from the doghouse and down the ramp ran
Dolly followed by four little balls of fur.

The little boy pressed his face against the chain link fence. His eyes
Danced with delight. As the dogs made their way to the fence,

The little boy noticed something else stirring inside the doghouse.

Slowly another little ball appeared, this one noticeably smaller. Down
The ramp it slid. Then in a somewhat awkward manner, the little pup began
Hobbling toward the others, doing its best to catch up....

"I want that one," the little boy said, pointing to the runt. The farmer
Knelt down at the boy's side and said, "Son, you don't want that puppy.
He will never be able to run and play with you like these other dogs
Would."

With that the little boy stepped back from the fence,
Reached down, and began rolling up one leg of his trousers.

In doing so he revealed a steel brace running down both sides of his leg
Attaching itself to a specially made shoe.

Looking back up at the farmer, he said, "You see sir, I don't run too well
Myself, and he will need someone who understands."

With tears in his eyes, the farmer reached down and picked up the little
Pup. Holding it carefully handed it to the little boy.

"How much?" asked the little boy. "No charge," answered the farmer, "There's
No charge for love."

Calvin & Hobbes - Week of Mar 17th

http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/2008/03/17/

http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/2008/03/18/

http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/2008/03/19/

http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/2008/03/20/

http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/2008/03/21/

http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/2008/03/22/

http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/2008/03/23/

White Lie Cake

Thanks to Mark for this post.

--------------------------------------------------

          Alice Grayson was to bake a cake for the Baptist Church Ladies' Group in Tuscaloosa,
but forgot to do it until the last minute. She remembered the morning of the bake sale and after
rummaging through cabinets,  found an angel food cake mix and quickly made it while drying
her hair,  dressing,and helping her son pack for Scout camp.

         When Alice took the cake from the oven, the center had dropped flat and the cake was
horribly disfigured. She thought, "Oh dear, there is not time to bake another cake."

         This cake was important to Alice because she did so want to fit in at her new church and
in her new community of friends. So, being inventive, she looked around the house for something
to build up the center of the cake.

          Alice found it in the bathroom--a roll of toilet paper. She plunked it in the center of the cake
and covered it with icing. Not only did the finished product  look beautiful, it looked perfect.

          Before she left the house to drop the cake by the church and head for work, Alice woke her
daughter Amanda and gave her some money and specific instructions to be at the bake sale the
moment it opened at 9:30 and to buy the cake and bring it home.

         When Amanda arrived at the sale, she found the attractive, perfect cake had already been sold.
She grabbed her cell phone and called her mom.

          Alice was horrified--she was beside herself. Everyone would know! What would they think?
She would be ostracized, talked about, and ridiculed!
 
          All night, Alice lay awake in bed thinking about people pointing fingers at her and talking about
her behind her back.

         The next day, Alice promised herself she would try not to think about the cake and would
attend the fancy luncheon/bridal shower at the home of a fellow church member and try to have a
good time.

        Alice did not want to attend because the hostess was a snob who more than once had
looked down her nose at Alice because she was a single parent and not from the founding families
of Tuscaloosa. But, having already RSVP'd, she couldn't think of a believable excuse to stay home.

        The meal was elegant, the company was definitely upper crust old South and to Alice's horror,
the cake in question was presented for dessert!

        Alice felt the blood drain from her body when she saw the cake!

        She started out of her chair to tell the hostess all about it, but before she could get to her feet,
the Mayor's wife said, "What a beautiful cake!"

        Alice still stunned, sat back in her chair when she heard the hostess (who was a prominent
church member) say, "Thank you, I baked it myself."

       Alice smiled and thought to herself, "God is good."

Tell Congress: My America Doesn't Torture!

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/391233290

Story With a Moral

Thanks to Fred for this post.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

The teacher gave her fifth grade class an assignment:
 
      Have your parents tell you a story with a moral at the end.
 
 
     The next day the kids came back and one by one began to tell their
     stories.
 
 
    "Johnny, do you have a story to share?"
 
 
    "Yes ma'am. My daddy told a story about my Aunt Sharon. She was a
     pilot  in Desert Storm and her plane got hit. She had to bail out over
     enemy territory and all she had was a small flask of whiskey, a pistol and
     a survival knife. She drank the whiskey on the way down so it wouldn't
     break and then her parachute landed right in the middle of twenty
     enemy troops.
 
     She shot fifteen of them with the gun until she ran out of bullets,
     killed four more with the knife, till the blade broke, and then she
     killed the last Iraqi with her bare hands."
 
    "Good Heavens" said the horrified teacher. "What kind of moral did
     your daddy tell you from this horrible story?"
 
 
 
 
 
    "Stay the Hell away from Aunt Sharon when she's drinking."

Calvin & Hobbes - Week of Mar 10th

http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/2008/03/10/

http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/2008/03/11/

http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/2008/03/12/

http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/2008/03/13/

http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/2008/03/14/

http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/2008/03/15/

http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/2008/03/16/

Calvin & Hobbes - Week of Mar 3rd

http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/2008/03/03/

http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/2008/03/04/

http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/2008/03/05/

http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/2008/03/06/

http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/2008/03/07/

http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/2008/03/08/

http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/2008/03/09/

Cowboy Poetry--Buying a Bra

Thanks to Snuffy for this post.
------------------------------------------------------
I ain't much for shopping, Or for goin' into town Except at
cattle-shipping time, I ain't too easily found.

But the day came when I had to go - I left the kids with Ma. But
'fore I left, she asked me, "Would you pick me up a bra?"

So without thinkin' I said, "Sure," How tough could that job be? An'
I bent down and kissed her An' said, "I'll be back by three."

Well, I done the things I needed, But I started to regret Ever
offering to buy that thing - I worked me up a sweat

I walked into the ladies shop My hat pulled over my eyes, I didn't
want to take a chance On bein' recognized.

I walked up to the sales clerk - I didn't hem or haw - I told that
lady right straight out, "I'm here to buy a bra."

From behind I heard some snickers, So I turned around to see Every
woman in that store Was a'gawkin' right at me!

"What kind would you be looking for?" Well, I just scratched my head.
I'd only seen one kind before, "Thought bras was bras," I said.

She gave me a disgusted look, "Well sir, that's where you're wrong.
Follow me," I heard her say, Like a dog, I tagged along.

She took me down this alley Where bras was on display. I thought my
jaw would hit the floor When I saw that lingerie.

They had all these different styles That I'd never seen before I
thought I'd go plumb crazy 'fore I left that women's store.

They had bras you wear for eighteen hours And bras that cross your
heart. There was bras that lift and separate, And that was just the start.

They had bras that made you feel Like you ain't wearing one at all,
And bras that you can train in When you start off when you're small.

Well, I finally made my mind up - Picked a black and lacy one - I
told the lady, "Bag it up," And figured I was done.

But then she asked me for the size I didn't hesitate I knew that
measurement by heart, "A six-and-seven-eighths."

"Six and seven eighths you say? That really isn't right." "Oh, yes
ma'am! I'm real positive - I measured them last night!"

I thought that she'd go into shock, Musta took her by surprise When I
told her that my wife's bust Was the same as my hat size.

"That's what I used to measure with, I figured it was fair, But if
I'm wrong, I'm sorry ma'am." This drew another stare.

By now a crowd had gathered And they all was crackin' up When the
lady asked to see my hat, To measure for the cup.

When she finally had it figured, I gave the gal her pay. Then I
turned to leave the store, Tipped my hat and said, "Good day."

My wife had heard the story 'fore I ever made it home. She'd talked
to fifteen women Who called her on the phone.

She was still a-laughin' But by then I didn't care. Now she don't ask
and I don't shop For women's underwear. ~ Author Unknown

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A&M Professor Speaks

This is a quoted interview with Bruce McCarl, an agricultural economist from A&M, from pages 118-120 of the February issue of Texas Monthly.

"Al Gore may be the public face of climate change, but all around the world, researchers are toiling in semi-obscurity to deepen our understanding of the challenge it poses. One of these is McCarl, a Texas A&M University professor who has spent the past twenty years studying the potential effects of global warming on farming and ranching. In 2004 McCarl's work got him appointed to the United Nations
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a sort of clearinghouse of more than 2,500 scientists, established to provide an objective source of information about this often-contentious subject. Last year, McCarl, his fellow IPCC whizzes, and Gore shared a Nobel Peace Prize "for their efforts to build up and disseminate greater knowledge about man-made climate change, and to lay the foundations for the measures that are needed to counteract such change."

You've said that Texas may be the state "most vulnerable" to climate change. Why?

The projections call for more droughts, more heat waves, more extreme weather­including more floods­warmer conditions, and drier conditions. And Texas is in a [projected] band that is substantially drier than the rest of the country. It would make Texas a less suitable place for crops to grow; under some of the more extreme scenarios, my prior work has indicated we'll have about 40 percent less cropped agricultural acreage. So we're vulnerable on the effects side.

And that's not all.

If the country moves to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, we're going to be the number one place to do that, because we have roughly twice the emissions level of any other state. And a lot of our industry is dependent on our large coal- and natural gas­fired power plant inventory, coupled with our large petroleum industry. Mitigation will hurt us. The first image in my slide presentation has an ambulance­mitigation­roaring at Texas from one side and a bulldozer­climate change­from the other. And my argument is, we are gonna get squeezed.

What's the good news?

I guess what I would say is, we are the home of the energy industry in the U.S., and energy emissions are the source of 85 percent of the problem. What we need to do is mobilize our intellectual capital in that industry to do this stuff, while reducing greenhouse gas emissions. And it may provide as much of an opportunity as it does a cost.

There is a great deal of unanimity in the scientific community about the reality of climate change, but it sometimes seems as if we've been stuck in neutral for the past ten years in terms of the policy response.

In this state there's resistance to the idea that anything is happening or that any action is needed, starting, I think, in some fairly high circles in Austin, but not stopping there. Every time I give a presentation, I have somebody who wants to talk about volcanoes or what happened in the 1910's or whether we have a natural cycle going on. I'm not sure where some of this stuff comes from. My job is presenting an objective view of the facts without coloring it with an awful lot of opinion. I wish other people would look at the facts and inform themselves.

They don't?

I get a little nervous at people who basically take the party line talking points that come off some of the talk shows and then just say, well, that's what the truth is and never go and investigate underneath it to form their own opinions. And that's true on both the advocate and denier sides.

How does it feel to win a Nobel?

It's nice to receive recognition for something that we've been struggling with for decades. Me and my two thousand­plus associates got this, so my share is small. But being a mathematician, I can say that it is still greater than zero. "

Texas Water and other issues

This is an article in the February Texas Monthly issue that every
Texan should read, because it is the biggest problem we face. There
are several other good articles in this magazine with the theme of
"The Future."

"H2NO, the Last Drop"
"Everybody remembers September 15, 2035. Just as they can tell you
where they were on September 11, 2001, they can recall what they were
doing 34 years later on the day that Dallas and Fort Worth ran out of water."

http://www.texasmonthly.com/