Ezine Blogs: March 2011

The Nethercutt Museum has a section that is a replication of an early car dealership (like the photos from Shorpy)

For the Shorpy photos of dealerships, check out an interior https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjBNahBvgNO0ba9HPlwoa6qszeW_6XXY0_7JzbJqdEonDf_Yr70jcmfOTHTvir1ctj777sNDvyoVN7060eqXLd1y-DsPBrqyiJTMD2E1MhyeVnngA6P6hCmvUsX8IXmzVojQBTm0-N8xY/s1600-h/cars8.jpg or two in this post: http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2008/11/automobiles-of-20s-and-before-from.html or an exterior: http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2010/03/impressive-car-dealershp-architecture.html

PHILVOLCS Director Warns of Upcoming Strong Earthquake in The Philippines

After strong earthquakes hit Japan and New Zealand, PHILVOLCS Director Renato Solidum Jr. said the Philippines is next.

Matapos yanigin ng malakas na lindol ang Japan at New Zealand, bibigyang-linaw ng Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology Director na si Renato Solidum Jr. ang diumanoy nagbabadyang lindol na paparating sa Pilipinas. Sasagutin ang lahat ng katanungan ng Bottomliners at ng taong-bayan kasama ang nag-iisang King of Talk na si Boy Abunda ngayong Sabado sa “The Bottomline.”

May katotohanan ba ang kumakalat na isyung hinog na sa movement ang Marikina fault line? Ano ang mga lugar na sakop nito? Totoo bang hindi lamang sa Marikina at sa karatig-pook nito tumatakbo ang fault line kung hindi maging sa Bulacan hanggang Tagaytay? Ano ang estado ng ating mga real estates sa naturang fault line? May posibilidad bang magkaroon ng tsunami sa ating bansa?

Gaano nga ba tayo kahanda sa lindol? Payak pa ba ang “duck, cover and hold” bilang proteksyon? Ano ang dapat na reaksyon sa bawat intensity levels? Sapat ba ang Disaster Awareness at Preparedness campaign ng ating gobyerno? May kinahantungan ba ang Metro Manila eathquake impact reduction study? At saang lugar ang pinaka-ligtas na puntahan sakaling lumindol ?

Wag palalampasin ang “The Bottomline with Boy Abunda” pagkatapos ng primetime telecast ng Banana Split sa ABS-CBN.

Woman motorcycle cops, I just learned why we never see them except in movies

Women aren't generally interested in being cops, so very few cops are women. Of the women that want to be cops, few want to be on patrol. Of those that patrol, few can ride a motorcycle. Of the extemely few women in law enforcement that are on patrol, and can ride a motorcycle... few of them can lift a law enforcement spec motorcycle. A race bike maybe, but not a fully equipped motorcycle the cops ride, and have to lift from the ground as a requirement of the training course for motorcycle cops. And that is a train of events that creates a scarcity of women motorcycle cops

Topless UK teacher: Art teacher Joanne Salley topless pics spread like wildfire at prestigious Harrow school

Looks like these pupils got the hots for teacher! I know that kids today have a short attention spam. Is this the way to fix that?

The Daily Mail reports that these sensational pictures have rocked one of Britain’s most hallowed institutions – Harrow School.

Topless photographs of an art tutor at the £30,000-a-year private school have been circulating its classrooms, dorms and corridors.

Joanne Salley, 32, a former model and TV presenter, posed provocatively in just a tight pair of jeans. In one shot she is draped over a bookcase crammed with tomes on art history.

Her tousled brunette hair reaches down to the small of her tanned back. In another moody image, she stares straight at the camera.

The pictures were captured by a fellow teacher at the school, professional photographer Fiona Corthine, as first reported by the Daily Mail’s Richard Kay. They are believed to have been taken on school grounds – in its art rooms.

The pictures were discovered by a pupil in the school’s photography laboratory – where they had been left on a memory stick. To the horror of Miss Salley –a former Miss Northern Ireland who used to go out with England rugby star Matt Dawson – the pictures circulated like wildfire on pupils’ mobiles.

They have been seen by the majority of the school’s 825 male pupils, its teachers and even its kitchen staff. Pupils who forwarded these pictures to the Mail did so after censoring them with modesty boxes.
More details here

TYPE CAR AUTOMOTIVE

TYPE CAR AUTOMOTIVE

American Idol 10 Top 11 Elimination Results: And the idol hopefuls leaving the idol stage is......

...Naima Adedapo and Thia Megia.

Yes, it's a double elimination night. And ouch! Pinoy's bet Thia is eliminated. "Daniel" didn't save her!

Joining them in the bottom three was Paul McDonald.

Watch here the American Idol Top 11 elimination night performances:

Scotty McCreery and Lauren Alaina duet “I Told You So”

Naima Adedapo and Jacob Lusk duet “Solid”

Thia Megia, Haley Reinhart and Pia Toscano sing “Teenage Dream”

Paul McDonald, Casey Abrams, James Durbin and Stefano Langone perform as “Band on the Run”

NATO (aka United States) Warns Rebels Against Attacking Civilians or face bombing! WTF?

We might as well call this the Keystone Kops of kinetic engagement. Do you think it would’ve been much wiser to really investigate exactly who the heck these so-called rebels are? Maybe their mercenaries who used to kill Americans?

Does this mean the U.S. …er…Nato is on both sides of this civil war?

New York Times reports that members of the NATO alliance have sternly warned the rebels in Libya not to attack civilians as they push against the government of Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi, according to senior military and government officials.

As NATO takes over control of airstrikes in Libya, and the Obama administration considers new steps to tip the balance of power there, the coalition has told the rebels that if they endanger civilians, they will not be shielded from possible bombardment by NATO planes and missiles, just as the government’s forces have been punished.

“We’ve been conveying a message to the rebels that we will be compelled to defend civilians, whether pro-Qaddafi or pro-opposition,” said a senior Obama administration official. “We are working very hard behind the scenes with the rebels so we don’t confront a situation where we face a decision to strike the rebels to defend civilians.”

More details here

I like how the Times reports the story so seriously without a hint of alluding to the total ridiculousness of it all. There’s another word this, its “quagmire”. Maybe the Times has forgotten that they use to use the Q-word quite often during Viet Nam and under the George W. Bush administration.

Memeorandun

Gas prices around the globe, March 2011

chart from http://www.dailyfinance.com/story/market-news/gas-prices-world-high-low-country-pain-pump/19895547/?icid=maing-grid7main5dl3sec1_lnk252904

via AIRINC http://www.air-inc.com

How does Hate Crime laws jib with equal protection under the law?

In New York City a 12 year old hoodlum boy and a female accomplice allegedly beat up on a 13 year old Muslim girl.

News reports say that the boy asked the Muslim girl, who was wearing a hijab, a head scarf Muslim females wear to honor Islam, if she was a Muslim. Afterwards the beating began with punches until the Muslim girl collapsed to the ground.

It was a viscous act of violence and the boy, who is in police custody, should be punished to the fullest extent of the law. However, the boy faces additional charges under Hate crime legislation, and this is where the justice system is running off the rails.

Why is this boy being charged with a hate crime and how did we get here as a society?

Who cares what the boy was thinking at the time he beat up the girl? The cuts and bruises on her face is enough evidence for me that he beat her up and should be dealt with on that basis alone.

However, Liberals, who invented the concept of Hate Crimes as a political tool to convert political correctness into votes, crossed the line into persecuting people for how they think-thought crimes. Further, the concept of equal protection under the law gets thrown on its head in favor of special protection for certain groups.

Have you ever heard of a white person being a victim of a Hate crime?

Under the law white people are not a special group. So where is the equal protection for them?

George Orwell’s 1984 has arrived and we’ll all suffer for it in one way or another if we don’t repeal hate crimes legislation.

If Liberals can push for the repeal of Rockefeller drug laws in New York, I as a conservative am calling for the repeal of hate crimes legislation. These mind-probing laws won’t be missed. People who commit murder, assault, battery, or rape can still be prosecuted for committing murder, assault, battery, and rape. That’s the way it ought to be, equal justice for bad acts instead of bad thoughts.

Calvin Klein giant billboard spells curse word that rhymes with duck

Okay, I pretty much blew the subliminal message. If you still can’t figure it out, I don’t know what to tell you.

The Blaze asks is Calvin Klein sending a secret, vulgar message in its latest ad popping up in New York City? If you look close enough, you might say, “yes.”
This is the ad, erected in Lower Manhattan, that’s causing quite the stir, and not just for the half-naked model seemingly busting out of her undergarments:

CK is really pushing the boundaries of good taste. But, who said he ever had any in the first place.

Yanni Tribute- Santorini

Santorini - Greece

Video: Annoyed Tennis Player David Ferrer Launches Ball at Crying Baby during match

I thought tennis was supposed to be the gentile sport?

The Blaze reports a baby was bawling, and Sony Ericsson Open quarterfinalist David Ferrer wasn’t too happy, either.
Trailing in his match and annoyed by the crying, Ferrer directed a forehand lob toward the infant after losing his serve midway through the second set Wednesday.

I guess you find the biggest jerks on the tennis court as well. If I was the kid’s father and the ball hit the baby, there would be one less tennis player in the world.

Yanni - The Storm

It’s time for Boehner and the GOPers to show Scott Walker courage, stop fearing govt shutdown!

The time for acting like men is now!

John Boehner needs to grow a pair, get an injection of Scott Walker courage flown in from Wisconsin if necessary. Acting timidly, afraid of imaginary shadows will not get it done for the taxpayers of the United States. If the govt has to be shut down in order to get those real cuts the people expect, so be it.

I don’t wanna see tears, Johnny! Show that you have a backbone instead and millions will support you who love this country!

Memeorandum

Chris Christie Vetoing Liberal Bullshit In New Jersey

Now, in the old days, New Jersey Democrats would have simply raised our taxes to pay for this shite:

Looks like word hasn’t reached all corners of New Jersey there is a new governor in Trenton. Gov. Christie has partially rejected the minutes of the March 9 meeting of the Urban Enterprise Zone Authority because of what he describes as $45,700 in unnecessary promotional and entertainment-related expenses for the Long Branch UEZ. The governor’s office released this list:

-$14,000 for promotional items at “conventions, expositions and conferences,” including such things as pads, pens, notebooks, flashlights, key chains, tee shirts, letter openers, sanitizer, Frisbees and other promotional items.

-$15,750 for “videography services” for recording “major car shows, cruise nights and concerts.”

-$15,000 for the “layout, production, printing, mailing and postage of a “UEZ City Calendar.”

-$700 for “refreshments such as donuts and coffee.”

-$250 committed to “travel,” for unspecified individuals, to include “tolls, parking and gas....

Next up, he's vetoing legislation that was proven to be "soft on crime". Just ask the dead:

Gov. Christie has conditionally vetoed a bill that would have changed the cycle of mandatory parole review from every three years to every 10 years. He also provided for the full repeal of the mandatory early release law that became controversial recently when two people out on early parole allegedly were involved in separate homicides.

About the early release law championed by Assemblywoman Bonnie Watson Coleman, Christie said, “Whatever original policy or principle motivated passage of this law, it failed to adequately consider the safety of the public. In recent months we have seen the horrific consequences of the early release law, which is why we must not wait any longer to take action and change it.”

There's no reason for criminals to have to go ten years between parole hearings; that's a bit cruel, even if the outcome if preordained. More importantly, he's working on repealing a law (signed by former governor and Democrat Jon Corzine) that gives dangerous criminals more freedom of movement than a scared public.

Trying to force taxpayers to ante up for frivolous spending, while setting criminals free to kill again - that's the way of the New Jersey Democrats. Thank God we have Chris Christie here to fight for us.

We need 1,000 more like him...

‘Catch Me…I’m In Love’ Rakes P52.95M in 5 Days

“Catch Me…I’m In Love” is a certified box-office hit for surpassing the P50 million mark in less than a week!

For the weekend opening period of March 23-27, 2011, the Star Cinema romantic comedy has raked in P52.95 million, the highest opening for a local movie this year so far.

Although this is not the highest opening record for Sarah Geronimo whose film “You Changed My Life” opened with a whopping P97.89-M in 2009, it’s a different story for Gerald Anderson.

This could be the highest-grossing movie of Gerald for his career because “Catch Me” is expected to surpass the P100 million mark by week 2 or 3. His last film, “‘Til My Heartaches End” opposite Kim Chiu opened in theaters last year with P33-M at the box-office.

Here’s the Philippine box office tally (Top 10) for the opening weekend of March 23 to 27, 2011 according to Box Office Mojo (premiering movies are highlighted in yellow):

HIGHEST-GROSSING FILMS IN THE PHILIPPINES FOR 2011
(As of March 27, 2011)

1. Gulliver’s Travels – P82.33M
2. Bulong – P67.27M
3. I Am Number Four – P63.14M *
4. The Tourist – P62.28M
5. Who’s That Girl? – P56.91M *
6. Catch Me…I’m In Love – P52.95M *
7. Red Riding Hood – P50.08 *
8. The Green Hornet – P48.19M
9. Tangled – P47.59M
10. My Valentine Girls – P44.26M

*Still showing in theaters

‘Who's That Girl?’ Earns P54.28M in 3 Weeks

The romantic-comedy film “Who's That Girl?” produced by Viva Films and SMDC starring Anne Curtis and Luis Manzano grossed P54.28 million during its three weeks run.

This is according to the figures posted by Box Office Mojo for the period March 16–20, 2011. The comedy film has surpassed the 3rd week gross of ‘My Valentine Girls’ from GMA and Regal Films with a 3rd week earnings of P44.26M. But it fails to surpass the 3rd week earnings of ‘Bulong’ from Star Cinema with striking box office sales of P67.27M.

TOP GROSSING PINOY MOVIES FOR 2011
(As of March 27, 2011)

1. Bulong - P67.27 Million
2. Who's That Girl? - P54.28 Million
3. Catch Me...I'm Inlove - P52.95*
3. My Valentine Girls Hits - P44.26 Million

*Still showing in theaters

Israel Prepares For The War Against Hezbollah

Very interesting bit of pyschological warfate by the Israelis, as they declassified and released IDF maps detailing the location of Hezbollah's bunkers. Via Judith Levy at Ricochet:

If you open the PDF and scroll down to the satellite photo of the village, you will see that weapons caches have been placed beside mosques and hospitals, underneath schools, and in residential areas. El-Khiam -- which was already the site of serious hostilities with the Israelis in 2006 -- has thus been wired as a village-sized suicide bomb. If Hezbollah launches attacks from El-Khiam and the IDF retaliates, civilian casualties are all but guaranteed.

Judith feels the release is a three-pronged offensive: A warning to Hezbollah ("We know where you are..."), and to the Lebanese people (did they know their womenfolk and children were penciled in as human shields?), and to the international community at large, so that the world understands that any civilians killed in an upcoming conflict were placed in harm's way by radical Islamists.

A fascinating play. There will be war in the Middle East sooner rather than later, as various factions try to coalesce a fractured population around them by attacking Israel. And while Hezbollah may or may not start the war (it may be Egypt, Hamas, or Syria, they will undoubtedly go for glory once the shooting starts.

But will this release have any affect on "world opinion" at all?

I'm skeptical. I wrote last week on the upcoming war, and how the media is already ignoring the facts, telling half the story, and otherwise finessing the narrative in order to present the story as it has always been told by the Left: Democratic Israel bad, bloodthirsty Islamist murderers good.

In theory, this should be big news. If it is not treated that way, if it is dismissed or ignored, well...then the ending to the story has already been written, no matter ho hard Israel tries to avoid civilian causalities, and regardless of how many innocents are killed by propaganda-seeking, Jew-hating terrorists...

Steve Irwin Death Video Official Footage

ΟΙ ΣΦΟΥΓΓΑΡΑΔΕΣ

Diving the Skafandro suit

With it's size of about 8 by 16 kilometers Kalymnos is a fairly small island in the Aegean Sea. It is part of the Dodekanesos, a group of over 50 islands in the southeast of Greece.
Although sponge diving was a source of income for several Greek islands during the last centuries, Kalymnos is known to be the center of the Greek sponge diving industry. The waters around the Greek islands are very suitable for the sponges to grow, because of the high temperature. The best sponge quality is found in the southeast of the Mediterranean sea.

It is unknown when exactly the sponge became an article of use. In ancient writings (Plato, Homerus) the sponge is mentioned as an object used for bathing. In Kalymnos also sponge diving had it's roots in ancient times. It can be seen as the oldest profession on the island. Diving for sponges brought social and economical development to the island.

In the old days the "skin diving" method was used. The crew went out to sea in a small boat. They used a cilyndrical object with a glass bottom to search the ocean floor for sponges. As soon as one was found, a diver went overboard to get it. He was usually naked and carried a 15 kilogram flat stone, known as the "skandalopetra" with him to take him down to the bottom quickly. The diver then cut the sponge loose from the bottom and put a special net around it. Depth an bottom time depended on the divers lung capacity. They usually went down to about 30 meters for 3 to 5 minutes.
Although this was very hard work, this way of diving brought so many sponges to the island that the trade from Kalymnos expanded in a great way around 1800. Half-way the 19-th century Kalymnos had several merchants that became very wealthy. Through the big profits they made on the sponges they also gained a big influence on the social life on the island.

As from 1865 trading sponges became "booming business". The reason for this was the introduction of the standard diving suit or Skafandro as the Greeks call it. A merchant from the island of Symi brought equipment, probably Siebe Gorman, to the island. The advantages seemed enormous. Now, divers could stay down as long as they wanted in greater depths. The best sponges could be found at depths of about 70 meters. A diver could now walk on the ocean floor and look for them.
300 ships with divers (6 to 15 divers on each ship)
70 ships that harvested sponges with harpoons
70 trawlers

Due to the standard suit the sponge trade got an unlimited growth.From Kalymnos, ships sailed the Aegean sea and the Medeterranean sea. They went as far as Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Syria and Lebanon. They stayed out at sea for at least 6 months.
The profit on the sponges was high. For the divers the working circumstances were better than diving naked. However, there was a big danger in staying down deep for long times: decompression sickness. soon after the standard suit was introduced, the first casualties appeard. The symptoms, heavy pain, paralysis and eventually death must have been terrifying for divers and other crew because they did not have a clue what caused all this !

A combination of several dives a day to depths up to 70 meters and then coming up without decompression stops did not miss its devastating effect: in the first years the standard suit was used, about half of the divers got paralised or died of decompression sickness. In her book "Bitter Sea", Faith Warn discribes that between 1886 and 1910 about 10.000 divers died and 20.000 got pemanently disabled.
This was also of big influence on all the people on Kalymnos. Every family had fathers, sons, brothers or other relatives that were paralised or never returned from the sponge diving season. By the end of the 19th century this caused big anxiety on Kalymnos, especially among women. In those days Kalymnos was ocupied by the Turks. The women asked the Turkish sultan to forbid the standard diving suit, which he did in 1882. Profits dropped: the divers had to go "skin diving" again. About 4 years later the suit was back and so were the decompression accidents.

It is easy to understand why the divers used the standard suit not knowing the dangers: The knowledge of decompression and decompression sickness developed in the 19th century. The studies used sponge diver experiences as input. The first workable decompression table came available around 1910. After that it took several years to get the knowledge to the remote Greek islands. Decompression tables could not prevent all diving accidents. The first tables did not cover repeated dives and the sponge divers made several repeated dives each day. As soon as they found out how important the bottom time was to prevent accidents the bottom time was kept by somebody aboard the ship. They used an hour-glass for this that was not very accurate.
Sponge diving brought wealth to the island but took a lot of lives as well. In the beginning only the merchants profited from it, later the whole community. Health care and education came available for everybody for free. The merchants posessed the fleet, the factories, restaurants, bars and a factory on Kalymnos were standard diving equipment was produced. English standard diving equipment was copied. Thus, the equipment was cheap and easy to maintain and repair. Spare parts were available on their own island. The "Xyth Pio" factory produced standard diving equipment for many years.

In the beginning of the 20st century the sponge diving industry had hard times in the Dodekanesos. Around 1900 the growth got to her maximum and both worldwars caused limitations to the trade. From Kalymnos and other islands like Halki and Symi large groups of divers settled in other parts of the world to do what they did best: diving. Around 1905 a group of about 500 divers from the Dodekanesos settled in Tarpon Springs, Florida, USA. These days diving helmets are still made by Nicolas Toth. Nic is the grandson of Antonios Lerios, born on Kalymnos, who settled in Florida in 1913 as a helmet maker.
After the second world war the sponge diving industry almost completely stopped in the Dodekanesos. In those days Australia refused to work together with Japanese divers in the pearl industry. Therefore many Greek divers settled in Australia.

Many people feel that the introduction of the synthetic sponge ment the end for the sponge diving industry. The biggest problem however, occured in 1986. Nearly all the sponges in the Aegean sea turned out to be infected. The cause of this never became clear. A sudden rise of the water temperature could be the cause. Similar infections appeard in the Gulf of Mexico in the 1940's 70's and 90's.
Anno 2001 there is hardly anything left of the sponge diving fleet from 1868. From 400 ships, about 10 to 15 are left. In recent years the sponges in the waters around Kalymnos have recovered in a great way. However, local sponge divers announced that they encountered infected sponges again in october 2000.
Some sponge diving witnesses can be found on some Greek islands. The capital of Kalymnos, Pothia, has a number of workshops left were sponges are cut and sold. In the harbour, a nautical museum has a display on sponge diving. The helmets you see in the previous page are in this exhibition. Vlihadia, a little town close to Pothia holds the "Sea World Museum". The privat collection of the Valsamidi brothers.

Sponge diver in full action. The use of standard diving equipment stopped in the 1970's. Many helmets were then sold as scrap-iron ! Still there are some divers in the sponge diving business. They now wear neoprene suits and a diving mask. They hold a mouthpiece between their teeth. This is attached to a air hose that leads to a compressor on the boat.
One of the many sponge shops you can still find on Kalymnos today. Due to pollution and huge harvesting there are hardly any Mediterranean sponges left. Tourists go home with the higher quality (and more expensive) Greek sponges or with Caribbean and Philippinean sponges that the Greeks import to sell.

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