Gulf of America

The experts don’t have the answers, because they’ve never considered the problem.

I believe the time has come to consider the bounty of the average American brain, i.e. regular people with reasonable ideas. This then is meant to be a place to propose those solutions, or partial solutions, or illusions of solutions that have been fogging around in your brain for at least a few weeks. Anyone can read and separate and mesh ideas however their creative abilities allow. In true grassroots think tank style, some ideas will be great, some will be repeats, others will stink, and a few will be flat out laughable.

So what.

Got a better idea?  Well send it this-a-way.

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I’ll go first:

I think that BP, TransOcean and Haliburton should announce the joint funding of a 10 year $30 billion “Race to Lead” program. This will be used as support for the research of marine extraction science, and overseen by the National Science Foundation. All new patentable or profitable products or discoveries to be split 50/50 between the inventor and the National Science Foundation.

Think of it like a humbler version of JFK’s call to put a man on the moon by the end of a decade. Think of the almost immediate results of such a plan. America having kids thinking about science or engineering or geology or mining or chemistry or what have you, and realizing that they can find a future for themselves and their country simultaneously; while at the same time, the world benefits from the understandings and innovations that come from intensive study.

“But, but, 30 billion dollars would fill a great gulf’” you say.

Well, yes. It would.

I could remind you of the size of the ruined waters, instead, let’s look at the profits (not revenues) of BP. Last year, they posted a $14 billion profit. Just one billion of that going to the restoration of the world in a positive, desirable and publicly supported and adored manner is not a big price to pay. It isn’t even 1/10 of their profits.

The National Science Foundation’s proposed 2011 budget is about $7.5 billion, so this will be a huge boost for the future of exploration. Nothing is ever certain, but three billion from the parties each year for 10 years – on top of whatever other fees, fines or expenses related to the calamity are assessed – may bring those companies back from the public relations disaster Deepwater is and will remain.

Future Forward

Your thoughts…please ?

This issue is probably DOA due to the difficulty of having Senators vote to pass an amendment limiting their own terms – something that doesn’t even sound possible.

Other than the instituting staggered electing (1/3 of the body every 2 years), Senators have never willingly given up any perk of office. The take may have to be that the count on a member’s limits would begin after the states ratify. Even then, we doubt they would have the backbone to consider it.

After all, they are Senators, and they get to serve as long as the people in their state continue to elect them. Which is how it should be. Yet we all know from high school history classes that the founders assumed people would serve for a while and then return to private life.

After registering your own vote, we encourage you to take and place the widget on blogs and other sites where you think it would be appropriate and useful. Just let us know where it is, so we can follow our little guy, and look at some of the responses.

Okay – what do you think?

Why S. Dakota?
Why the heck not?

Here we have a beautiful and history-filled building of interest to all – not just locals.

Sure, you probably go to SD to see Mount Rushmore and the Crazy Horse Memorial, or maybe Jewel Cave

or Badlands National Park. But when in the area, stop in to see their capitol building.

It is really a thing of beauty.

Mount Rushmore tidbit:
Did you know that the figure of Thomas Jefferson was started on Washington’s right? After 18 months of carving the figure of Jefferson had to be dynamited off the mountain and restarted on the left of Washington.

The fires are shown as tiny particles with each particle depicting the site at which a fire was detected. Daily fires are displayed at a rate of 10 days per second. The fire particles fade over 1.7 seconds and change color as they age from red to orange, yellow and gray. A clock inset indicates the date. Note: This animation shows fires detected over North America from 8-21-2001 through 8-20-2002 with a clock inset. Data Collected: 2001/08/21 through 2002/08/20. Animator: Greg Shirah (NASA/GSFC), Cindy Starr (GST). Scientist: Robert Sohlberg (University of Maryland), Chris Justice (University of Maryland). Platforms/Sensors/Data Sets: Terra/MODIS, Terra and Aqua/MODIS/Fire Location, Terra and Aqua/MODIS/Blue Marble: Next Generation.

In 1911, the US Army Infantry Drill Regulations began to require that the American flag never be “dipped” to any foreign power.

Although it is forbidden to deface the country’s symbol, gold fringe was first used on the American flag in 1835. The Air Force and Army use it for parades and display, while the Coast Guard, Marines and Navy do not.

Extended and informative flag postings and links can be found here, here, here and here.

The United States Flag Code unambiguously states that using the flag for advertising purposes is a violation, but the Supreme Court has ruled that such acts are protected by free speech.

So.

Here we show America’s previous flags. And under Our Little Store, we offer it for sale with the Supreme Court’s blessing.

This is the best book we’ve found on the subject:

The American Flag: Two Centuries of Concord & Conflict

Weldon Pump

During the explosion of innovation fostered by WW II, a Cleveland company named Weldon Tool devised its first fuel pump.

Back then, Weldon Pump began with a brilliant pump design known as a cammed vane. The cammed vane is so clever, it has remained the unsurpassed high-pressure, low-volume pump for the worldwide Aerospace, Racing and Marine industries ever since.

Going on seven decades, Weldon Pumps are still made in America’s heartland by a company proud of its traditions and equal to its reputation, and Weldon Pumps and Weldon Racing Pumps are still considered the standard in the industries they serve.

Carl Bergstrom founded the Weldon Tool Company, his son Walter began the Weldon Pump division in 1942, and Walter’s children and grandchildren now keep to the quality of their heritage.

It was the first time in 27 years that an American has won the race. Back in 1982 when Alberto Salazar was the last American to take the honor, Ronald Reagan was President and Michael Jackson released Thriller.

Perhaps even more impressively, five other Americans finished in the top ten – the first time America has been dominant in nearly three decades.

UPDATE:

Darren Rovell of CNBC slighted Keflexighi’s Americanhood here. With this gem as a stand-out:

Meb Keflezighi, who won yesterday in New York, is technically American by virtue of him becoming a citizen in 1998, but the fact that he’s not American-born takes away from the magnitude of the achievement the headline implies.

And then somewhat came to his senses here.

All I was saying was that we should celebrate an American marathon champion who has completely been brought up through the American system.

This kind of thinking makes acceptable the derision of any immigrant children, who grow up and make something of themselves in the only country they ever really considered home.

How American is that?

(if you are unable to see the YouTube video, click here)

Pecans are indigenous to the Americas, known to having been eaten by Native Americans since the 17th century.

Why are we talking about pecans in October, when April is National pecan month?

Last year was bad for pecan growers, and lovers. Ice storms decimated much of the crop which usually takes 2 – 4 years to return to normal.

This year, however, the pecans are unexpectedly growing rampant, and the harvests have been excellent.

Although the first American pecans (other than in Mexican) were planted as a crop in New York, southern states have almost entirely taken over what has since become an industry.

Eat some pecans! they’re full of vitamin E, protein, fiber and other goodness.

And, they taste great!

Thanks to OETA for allowing us to share their video

Various water utility companies will give credits to their customers for making these changes. In a few years it won’t be an option, all the manufacturers are discontinuing their previous designs and moving this direction. As that progresses the utility companies won’t give credits and there will be less incentive for customers to replace them. That being said I will make my suggestion quick and painless, change your toilets and start making an impact on your local water table today.

Editor’s note:  Toto is Made in USA and its state of the art plant is in Morrow, Georgia

This piece was originally written by our friends at Good News Plumbing.

Over a course length of nearly three football fields that featured a muddy water hole and two log obstacles, Dave and Lacey Castro of Lewiston, Maine needed less than a minute to come in first among 41 teams from 11 states, winning Saturday’s competition at the Sunday River ski resort in nearby Newry.

They covered the 278-yard course in an astonishing 54.45 seconds, and are now eligible to compete as North American champions at the world championships in Finland next July.

Their prizes were (97-pound) Lacey Castro’s weight in beer and five times her weight in cash – $485.

97 pounds.