Thought for today...

The war on terror would be 'won in large measure by forces you do not know about, in actions you will not see and in ways you may not want to know about.' Buzzy Krongard CIA pg245 'Blackwater' Posted via my LGVX8600 phone.

National Aquarium in Baltimore

National Aquarium in Baltimore, originally uploaded by RMStringer.

Baltimore Weekend 2.1.2008

This is an Australian Mud-Skipper. It remindes me of the Muddy Mud-Skipper show that was on Ren&Stimpy...

A Sunspot in the New Solar Cycle.

2008 February 6


Credit & Copyright: Greg Piepol

Explanation: A new cycle has begun on our Sun. Over the past year, the Sun's magnetic field has reset and now a new 11 year period is beginning. Pictured above in a specific color of light emitted by hydrogen is sunspot 10982, one of the first sunspots of the new solar cycle. The two dark lines visible just above and to either side of the bright sunspot are cool filaments held aloft by the Sun's magnetic field. Hot and cold regions are shown as regions of relative light and dark, respectively. A solar cycle is caused by the changing magnetic field, and varies from solar maximum, when sunspot, coronal mass ejection, and flare phenomena are most frequent, to solar minimum, when such activity is relatively infrequent. Solar minimums occurred in 1996 and 2007, while the last solar maximum occurred in 2001. Of course, tomorrow's annular solar eclipse is mostly for penguins.

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Could Superman Get Cut by a Lightsaber?

This is very interesting...
I thought that some of you might like to know this!~

It’s a question that sounds like something that characters in a Kevin Smith movie would debate for a solid hour of a movie, but fortunately Gizmodo’s crack team of sci-fi and superhero geeks have put their heads together to come up with an answer so we all can rest a little easier.

Yes
• If the lightsaber crystal was green, like green kryptonite, or if they actually used kryptonite as the crystal, then Superman would melt like a hot knife through even hotter dog droppings.
• Superman’s been injured by lasers before (see most aliens he’s fought), so an extremely focused laser like a lightsaber could possibly hurt him if applied directly to the skin for a long enough time.
• If he were under the effects of kryptonite, when even bullets can hurt him, then a lightsaber could definitely chop off parts of his body.

No
• What type of radiation does the lightsaber emit? It’s light, and Superman gets power from the sun, so the lightsaber could be a refreshing lamp.
• It would just burn off his clothes, like in Superman 2, but it wouldn’t hurt him.
• He uses lasers (his own heat vision) to shave himself, so the best the lightsaber could do would to singe his chest hair, or give him a nice shave down there.
• Jedis can’t actually cut through “everything” with the sword. Example: the big huge door in Episode I. They had to jam in their lightsabers and “melt” a doorway inside the door. The sword was fast to go into the door because they applied all the force to the tip, but was slow cutting because the Jedis are only so strong. Picture you cutting through a watermelon. In the same principle, a lightsaber technically might be able to cut through Superman, but there’s nobody strong enough to force it through. Unless you somehow get the Hulk to use a lightsaber. But the Hulk doesn’t exist.

Verdict: Superman wins!

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Sunset on the lake...

This was taken off of Woolridge going across Swift Creek Reservoir this evening. Look at the reflection of the clouds on the water...

Taken with my LGVX8600 phone.
From RMStringer

Before the storm...

Taken with my LGVX8600 phone.
From RMStringer

Thought for today...

A stranger should be well-mannered...Fallujah proverb pg48 'Blackwater' Posted via my LGVX8600 phone.

Im starting this book.

I have several going at the same time.
From RMStringer

Dorey Park in eastern Henrico County.

I would love for this park to reopen. I also want to go and check it out even if it is "closed"

Plan could reopen park trail to riders

Club, county work to repair Dorey paths damaged by storm

 

Chris McMillan, 30, a member of Mid-Atlantic Off-Road Enthusiasts, rides his mountain bike at Dorey Park in eastern Henrico County. The club is working toward an agreement with the county to restore mountain bike trails in the park.
Photo By: JOE MAHONEY/TIMES-DISPATCH

By WILL JONES

TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER

Mountain-bikers looking to pump their pedals in Henrico County might end up at Dorey or Deep Run parks if they read trail reviews on the Internet.

But according to the county parks department, Henrico has mountain-bike trails only at Dorey -- and they've been closed for several years.

That could change under a proposed arrangement between Henrico and the Richmond area chapter of the Mid-Atlantic Off-Road Enthusiasts.

Last week, the Board of Supervisors agreed to have the county pursue an agreement with the 80-member club to restore trails at Dorey that were closed after being damaged by Hurricane Isabel in 2003.

Richmond MORE, which has done similar, no-cost work at the James River Park System in Richmond, advocates for trails that are designed using methods that limit ongoing maintenance, erosion, tree damage and other impacts.

MORE members say the demand for trails is evident by the unsanctioned, or "social," paths that are worn in Henrico's parks.

"The proof is in the park," said Greg Rollins, trail advocacy director for Richmond MORE and a resident of western Henrico. "If the users weren't asking for it, the leaves would fall on the trail, and the trails would go back to nature."

Henrico discourages the creation of social trails in its parks, but officials say the problem is difficult to control.

Board of Supervisors Chairman David A. Kaechele said working with Richmond MORE makes sense because of the proliferation of informal trails, including at the Twin Hickory Park site, which hasn't yet been developed.

"It expands the uses of the park for different people's interests," he said. "That's what they're there for."

Many of Henrico's parks have wide, relatively-flat, paved trails for joggers, cyclists and parents with baby strollers.

But mountain bikers crave a more extreme experience.

"They don't give the feeling of being in the woods," Rollins said of the wide paths. "The closeness of the trees gives you the feeling of speed."

Several miles of mountain-bike trails were built at Dorey about seven years ago with help of a state grant.

The trails, designed for beginner and intermediate riders, are officially closed, but they've gotten some continued use, based on trail reviews posted by riders at www.mtbr.com.

Rollins said Richmond MORE doesn't endorse social trails, and he sees them as a problem in all county parks. The club had proposed working with Henrico to design trails at Dorey and Deep Run, but the supervisors agreed to proceed at only Dorey despite liability concerns by County Manager Virgil R. Hazelett.

In 2000, a mountain-biker became a quadriplegic after crashing into a ravine at Poor Farm Park in Ashland while participating in a class sponsored by Henrico. Henrico later paid $1 million to settle a lawsuit filed by the rider, Barry Fountain, according to officials.

Richmond MORE's $1 million-per-accident insurance policy covers any trails built by the club, Rollins said. If all goes well at Dorey, the club hopes to design trails at Deep Run and elsewhere.

"We feel it's baby steps," he said.
Contact Will Jones at (804) 649-6911 or wjones@timesdispatch.com.

--
RMSTringer
+++++++++++++++

Some Baltimore Pics...

Sun reflection...


Neat reflection...


Statue in the Inner Harbor Park...


I took all of these with my cam phone. I hope to have some better pics uploaded this week.

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Over the weekend...

We made a trip to Baltimore Maryland for a Cheering Contest. We have been doing lots of traveling as of late but now we will be home for a few months before out next trip. I took a bunch of pics with the cam phone and have loaded them on my Fickr page. We went to the Inner Harbor in Baltimore

We did a 4 ship tour, The U.S.S. Constellation, The USCGC Taney, Chesapeake Lightship, The USS Torsk (submarine) plus The Seven Foot Knoll Lighthouse, and i have some pics of them. We went to the Baltimore Aquarium and it was AMAZING! I have been to several aquariums around the country and this one was the best. We ate at the Hardrock Cafe and went to several stores around the harbor. The city was very clean and i was really impressed with it. If you get a chance, go and see it for yourself!


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If you Smell What Ba"Rock" Obama is Running For!!

Is it just me or has anyone noticed how much The Rock and Brarck look and sound alike? Take when Ba"Rock" gets to pitching his campaign speaches and when the Rock gets to saying his tel tel sayings...

Let em know what you think about the two of them..

Here are a few examples:
The Rock:




Ba"Rock" Obama:






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We won!

Taken with my LGVX8600 phone.
From RMStringer

Finished!

All done!
From RMStringer

Getting Ready

Cheer Curls...
From RMStringer

What I am reading today...

Taken with my LGVX8600 phone.
From RMStringer

I am Pissed!!

In our neighborhood there are no loose dogs running around. Our neighbors have a dog that is in a fenced area and our other neighbors have a dog that they keep in their garage and sometimes let it run in the back yard.  Our houses are about 15 feet apart on either side of our home.  I walked out to put the trash in the can that is located between our homes and found dog poop all over the ground near my trashcan.  Read what I said in the sentence before, We have no loose dogs.  They must keep it in the garage and the feel the need to sweep the poop right out the garage door that is located directly across from my trashcan.   That PISSES me off to no ends and I take the snow shovel and I scoop it right back into their yard.  I have done it several times now and I guess that they don't get the picture.  Please do not be trashy and keep their crap in their yard and not mine!

 

RMStringer

#################

"Though no one can go back and make a brand new start,

anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending." - Author Unknown

 

Hollywood Walk of Fame?

How the hell does or is Miley Cyrus even close to getting a star?  Actors and Actresses go their whole life without getting a star until they are dead and she at all of what 15 is about to get one?  What a load of crap!!  Those stars used to mean something like you were an established actor, not some tween star from the Dumnsey channel.  That just pisses me off to no ends.   It just goes to show you the state that Hollywood is in.

 

RMStringer

+++++++++++++++++++++++

"We are all geniuses when we dream"

- E.M. Cioran

 

Martha's Gingerbread Bi#$h

My friend has a new blog that he is working on. It is called " Martha's Gingerbread Bit#$" It is a general interest blog with neat articles, so please go and view it.

Thankx,

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Religious Shift...

It has been my experience that if you don't grow or change that you die. Take for instance the Catholic Church. Nowhere in the Bible does it say you cannot marry. Then take for example all of the issues with homosexual priests over the last 40+ years. This happens few and far between in Protestant religions of the world. I am a Methodist. It is a centrist religion as is many others like Episcopalian, Lutheran, and Baptist to a lesser extent. When I was in high school, the UMYF (United Methodist Youth Fellowship) was very crucial to me as it was a place to go and be with other teens in a safe environment. Many teens attended and it was held at different people’s houses every week and at the church on Sunday Evening.

You have to bring Religion to the people and relate it in a way that they can understand! Hellfire and Brimstone Baptist sermons are just not current to today’s populace. That is why I feel that many of the “Community” Churches are growing much more than say the Baptist Religion. Tell me where in the Bible it says that you can’t dance. We held dances after the football games and all the Baptist kids attended them as well as any other religion that we had in town. The Methodist Religion is growing by leaps and bounds due to the fact that they offer more to the people and the teen population. The Methodist Church we attend has a youth group that is well over 100+ teens that go to it. They have events that happen during the week and on Sunday evening. They have a youth band that performs at the church. You see? Bring something to the people and you have their attention. You have a safe haven for the youth that are the life-blood of the church for the new century. Without a strong youth program, the church will wither away, not grow, and finally die. I have seen it happen to many “back woods” churches as well as it can happen to city churches. I talked to a preacher over the weekend about this issue and he told me something very startling. He said that the Methodist Churches in that area were dieing due to them not changing with the times. The area is Southeast Texas, which is not the norm that I have seen but then I have not been in that area for many years, so I tend to believe him.

I guess what I am trying to convey is that if Religion as a whole does not grow and change to meet the times it will be a dead entity. I have dealt with many religious people in my time on earth, from religious fanatics to the atheist. People who try to push their religion on me, even though they mean well, turn me off to what they are saying. I can see that they try to “help” me, but some things I need to find out for myself, or ask the questions and not have their views pressed upon me. Likewise, nonreligious persons need not apply either. I believe what I believe and don't need your rhetoric either. People who spout off to be “holy” and if we place our faith in them surly fall just as Oral Roberts, Swaggart and Jim Baker. They lose their cred by being mightier than thou and condemning you for your view for they are the Religious Right or far Left and not centrist. just a few thoughts of mine.

Well, I am off for I have a few things to take care off around the house…

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