rich ruminations

• @chalko I bet the Marines don’t do PT this way: http://tinyurl.com/yu4tvu #

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This is pretty cool.

Via BoingBoing.

I found this on The Weekly Standard, with this comment by Dean Barnett:

What I find most remarkable about the speech beyond its extraordinary content is the simple, straight forward language and the appropriately spare delivery. There were no clumsy applause lines, no laundry lists of silly promises meant to purchase the votes of certain citizens. Instead, it was just one man talking sense, honestly and from the heart, clearly without the guidance of either pollsters or focus groups.

Current candidates, please take note - the audience loved it. And 43 years later, it’s part of history. Even the most moving paen to ethanol won’t be so recognized.

What I find interesting is just how relevant the speech is today. Communism failed spectacularly in the late 1980’s; now, we face the threat of radical Islam.

A Brief History of Christmas.

• @leehinde #

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I think the contrast between these two holiday-themed presidential commercials is quite interesting.

First, from Hillary Clinton:

Should I laugh?

Spew?

Roll my eyes and shudder?

Next, from… well, just watch and see…

Classy.

To All My Democrat Friends

Please accept with no obligation, implied or implicit, my best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low-stress, non-addictive, gender-neutral celebration of the winter solstice holiday, practiced within the most enjoyable traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice, or secular practices of your choice, with respect for the religious/secular persuasion and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all. I also wish you a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling and medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar year 2008, but not without due respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures whose contributions to society have helped make America great. Not to imply that America is necessarily greater than any other country nor the only America in the Western Hemisphere. Also, this wish is made without regard to the race, creed, color, age, physical ability, religious faith or sexual preference of the wishee.

To My Republican Friends

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

This is a wonderful happy ending for a family here in the Sacramento area.

A father and three children who vanished on a Christmas tree-cutting trip in the Northern California mountains were found alive Wednesday after huddling in a culvert for warmth during three days of heavy snow.

“Our hearts are all full right now,” said Cory Stahl, who closed his pest control business so his employees could help look for the father, Frederick Dominguez, their co-worker. “It’s a very merry Christmas now.”

A California Highway Patrol helicopter crew spotted Dominguez atop a small bridge and landed nearby, sinking into 2 feet of snow, flight officer David White said. The family had taken shelter in a culvert beneath the bridge and stomped “help” in the snow, White said.

White said it was the last opportunity for the helicopter, with snow falling heavily as it descended.

“With another storm coming in, they were just happy to get out of there and get home,” he said.

The helicopter ferried the family to safety in two trips, the two youngest children brought out of the woods first.

Daughter Alexis, 14, and Joshua, 12, stepped from a rescue helicopter and were immediately enveloped in a cluster of well-wishers carrying heavy blankets while the chopper went to fetch their father and brother.

Dominguez smiled at cheering family and friends as he and 18-year-old Christopher emerged from the helicopter a short time later.

All four were walking, talking and drinking hot chocolate while being checked at Feather River Hospital for dehydration, hypothermia and frostbite, treating physician Kurt Bower said. He expected them to be released later in the day.

• @leehinde one of my favorite Leopard features #
• @bryangreen "bleah" — Are you watching the Peanuts xmas special? #
• TBA at MacWorld? http://tinyurl.com/2dxbe5 #
• Very cool news for Tolkien fans: http://www.aintitcool.com/node/35108 #
• More on the Hobbit movies: http://scalzi.com/whatever/?p=214 #

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My step-daughter’s 9th grade English teacher, “Zrinka”:

She’s the first lady to appear on stage (the tall blonde) on this first video clip.

The next three clips are fairly short… appear to be some sort of amazon-fetish kind of thing…

• @leehinde hmm… see http://tinyurl.com/24e9lr #
• Rock Band and a trampoline at our house #
• @d3rox Must be an old one… 128k RAM and two disk drives? #

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Despite claims by global warming/climate change advocates, there is ongoing debate and discussion about the subject. In fact, there is an online debate in progress as I type this post.

• @chalko Gotta watch that iPhone auto-correction #
• @d3rox damn. you will indeed be missed. #
• GarageBand update lets you create your own iPhone ringtones, for free #
• Works great. See http://tinyurl.com/2zfyre #

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