For the times, they are a changin' !

Oh my! Look what's happening at one of the last bastions of flaming liberalism! According to Reuter's news service:

"A conservative alumni group dedicated to "exposing the most radical professors" at the University of California at Los Angeles is offering to pay students $100 to record classroom lectures of suspect faculty.

The Web site of the Bruin Alumni Association also includes a "Dirty Thirty" list of professors considered by the group to be the most extreme left-wing members of the UCLA faculty, as well as profiles on their political activities and writings.

UCLA Chancellor Albert Carnesale on Thursday denounced the campaign as "reprehensible," and school officials warned that selling or distributing recordings of classroom lectures without an instructor's consent violates university policy."

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The group, which is not affiliated with UCLA or its official alumni association, is the creation of Andrew Jones, a 2003 UCLA graduate who said he runs the organization mostly on his own with $22,000 in private donations.

Jones told Reuters he is out to "restore an atmosphere of respectful political discourse on campus" and says his efforts are aimed at academics who proselytize students from either side of the ideological spectrum, conservative or liberal.

Jones' site describes his campaign as "dedicated to exposing UCLA's most radical professors" and his list of the university's "worst of the worst" singles out only professors he says hold left-wing views.

Goodness, things have changed. This kind of info would have had us hippie wantabe's flocking to the super cool prof's class. It's come to this: We've reared a generation of narcs. As Dylan once said "Oh, the times, they are a changin' "

Come gather 'round people
Wherever you roam
And admit that the waters
Around you have grown
And accept it that soon
You'll be drenched to the bone.
If your time to you
Is worth savin'
Then you better start swimmin'
Or you'll sink like a stone
For the times they are a-changin'.

Come writers and critics
Who prophesize with your pen
And keep your eyes wide
The chance won't come again
And don't speak too soon
For the wheel's still in spin
And there's no tellin' who
That it's namin'.
For the loser now
Will be later to win
For the times they are a-changin'.


Come mothers and fathers
Throughout the land
And don't criticize
What you can't understand
Your sons and your daughters
Are beyond your command
Your old road is
Rapidly agin'.
Please get out of the new oneI
f you can't lend your hand
For the times they are a-changin'. ( Bob Dylan 1964 )

The Fine Art of Shotgun

The history of calling "Shotgun" goes back to the days of covered wagons and the Wild West. On a trip across the plains, the driver of a wagon would hold the reins of his horse team and concentrate on driving. This left him and the occupants of his wagon susceptible to sneak attacks from banditos and thieves. To avoid this atrocious circumstance it became necessary for one person to sit next to the driver with a shotgun and fend off the enemy.

Defending against bandits is no longer the priority of Shotgun however, but it has evolved into a pre-driving ritual that is experienced before almost every car ride across America and even the world.

The Rules:
The following rules have been created through many years of exploring the ritual of Shotgun and are designed with the idea of fairness to all as the main priority.

You Must Say The Word "Shotgun"
You must say the word "Shotgun" to stake your claim on Shotgun. This must be done clearly and loud enough so that at least one other to-be occupant of the vehicle can hear you. No variations of this word are acceptable. After you have rightfully called Shotgun, you have exclusive rights to Shotgun for that ride. However, if no one hears you call Shotgun it is still fair game for everyone.

The Deed Must Be Done Before Shotgun May Be Called
For these rules to work properly, it is essential for you to understand and accept the concept of the "Deed". Shotgun may only be called after the "deed is done". Simply stated, the deed is any activity or objective that directly precedes the ride in the automobile.

You Must Be Outside To Call Shotgun
Some people choose to use a variation of this rule and require that all occupants be out of the building before Shotgun can be called. This does not work. It leads to everyone calling Shotgun at the same time and often ends in physical violence.

The Barefoot Rule
Since you must be outside to call Shotgun, some people will just grab their shoes, jump outside, and call Shotgun before putting their shoes on. This has been deemed "gaping", and is not a legal procedure. You must have your shoes on, if you choose to wear any, before you may call Shotgun.

The Re-entry Rule
If you call Shotgun and then go back inside for some reason, you must re-call Shotgun after leaving. After you have re-entered the building, Shotgun is once again fair game to all.

The Line-Of-Sight Rule
In the situation of the deed being a hike or other extensive outdoor activity, you may not call Shotgun until the automobile is within your sight. This rule needs only to be used when the passengers are outside for a long time and have traveled long distances from the car, as with a day of snow skiing.

Miscellaneous
Hand On DoorShotgun can no longer be called once someone's hand is holding the shotgun door handle. This officially stakes their claim to Shotgun and calling it at this time is just redundant. This is one scenario where a person does not actually have to say Shotgun to get the seat. This rule's importance is that no one has to be around for you to stake your claim to Shotgun, whereas usually one other would-be occupant must be present for you to call it.

Sit Down
If you manage to sit in Shotgun before anyone has called it, you keep the position even if someone else calls shotgun after you sat down. This is very similar to the Hand on Door rule, where you do not actually have to say Shotgun nor does anyone else have to be present for you to claim it.

The Balk
This rule is applied when you have called Shotgun and are waiting for the doors to be unlocked. If you lift the handle while the doors are being unlocked and therefore cause the Shotgun door to remain locked, then you are "voided" for that ride. At this time Shotgun is available for all of the other passengers to call.
Garages
If you enter a garage that is connected to a house or building without having to go outside, then you may call Shotgun as soon as you enter the room. This only applies to small attached garages. Parking structures and detached garages are always considered as being outdoors, even if they are underground.

Multiple Cars
In the situation where a group of people are travelling in multiple cars, you must specify which car you are calling Shotgun for. For example: if the two drivers are named "Bob" and "Sue", then someone must say "Shotgun Bob" or "Shotgun Sue" depending on which car they would like to ride in.

Shotgun Abandonment
If the Shotgun occupant exits the car to accomplish a deed, Shotgun becomes eligible to the remaining passengers in the other seat(s). Once Shotgun is available, you must call Shotgun before the other occupants. Often times there is discrepancy regarding when Shotgun actually becomes available. Several attempts have been made to clearly define this point, yet no truly fair rule can be applied here. For this reason, one game of Rock, Paper, Scissors is usually the easiest way to solve the problem. Exception: If the Shotgun rider abandoned the seat to do a deed for the driver, i.e. purchasing cigarettes or pumping gas, that person retains Shotgun.

Other Seats
Once the Shotgun seat has been called by someone, the other less prestigious seats in the car may be claimed using the same rules as calling Shotgun. For example: you can say "back-right" or "back-center". In addition, you may also negate calls such as "not back-center" which would put you in any seat except for the back-center.

Remain Seated
If you choose to remain in the automobile while the other passengers accomplish their deed, you may retain full rights to Shotgun. Often times not everyone needs to go inside when completing menial deeds. It can be abused however when a certain person is willing to wait in the car for extensive periods of time in order to retain the rights to Shotgun. This type of person is considered to be a "Shotgun Gaper".

The Shotgun GaperGapers (gay-pers) are people who prioritize Shotgun much more than a normal human being. These people will alter their usual behavior and even undermine their own ethics in order to gain the rights to Shotgun. They do this through legal means such as sprinting for an exit, and therefore they cannot be voided.

Voiding
Whenever you break a Shotgun rule as stated in this guide, you may be voided from receiving Shotgun privileges for that ride. Although somewhat discretionary, voiding automatically applies if you call Shotgun while indoors, or if you do not have your shoes on and call Shotgun, or if you display any other blatant disregard for Shotgun protocol. In circumstances of minor Shotgun rules infractions, voiding may not need to be exercised. Being void only applies for the ride directly after the voiding has occurred and after that ride you may regain full Shotgun privileges. Once someone has been voided, then all of the other passengers are free to once again call Shotgun in the correct manner.

Special note regarding discrepancies: many people use a "driver override" rule that says the driver of the car settles any discrepancies. The driver override rule also says that a driver has the final say about who gets to ride Shotgun. This version of the rule is very subjective and defeats the purpose of calling Shotgun. Rock, Paper, Scissors is a much more fair and objective way of settling any disputes.

Owner-Driver SwitchIf someone is driving an automobile other than its owner and the owner becomes a passenger, then the owner automatically gets Shotgun. When applied, this rule shows respect to the owner of the car.

Lunatic Fringe Benefits

One has to fill out an application in order to join Al Qaeda??

A Miami Herald article claims that: "After the US military invaded Afghanistan to oust its Taliban rulers, authorities found a locker full of applications to join al Qaeda's holy war overseas."

Holy Moley! What qualifies one for membership??? What kind of skills are they looking for to strengthen Al Qaeda? Do you have to be a "team player"? Be a "people person"? Be willing to blow up innocent people? Be a sharp dresser... in black ski masks and C 4?? Be willing to relocate... to like the realm of the dead?? I'm serious here... an APPLICATION to join al Qaeda? Being an HR type, my first question is: Do they check references? Where are the interviews held? What exactly are the benefits?? Will you be able to take paid holidays and vacation? Is there a 401K plan or does the chance to live out your joyous eternity with 72 virgins replace that?

Just when you think the world can't get any weirder....

Anyway the Wind Blows

The West Texas wind industry expects to be thriving soon because of recent actions by the state of Texas and Congress. Last summer Congress approved a comprehensive energy bill that included a two-year extension of a federal production tax credit, key to development of costly wind projects.

More recently, Gov. Rick Perry signed a bill to expand Texas' renewable energy requirements and expand the state's transmission grid to move more West Texas wind energy to metropolitan markets.

The legislation will increase investment in new projects, creating a wealth of economic opportunities, said Greg Wortham, executive director of the West Texas Wind Energy Consortium, a nonprofit alliance of landowners, governments and others involved in the industry.

Today, there are five wind farms in Taylor, Nolan, Borden and Scurry counties. Once all current projects are completed, there will be about 1,000 wind turbines in the area. Taylor and Nolan counties lead the numbers race with approximately 350 turbines each.

The Horse Hollow II project, located in Taylor county, covers approximately 100,000 acres. At its completion, the project will be the largest wind farm in the world.

The prime factor in wind farm placement, according to Wortham, is the combination of wind resource and transmission capability. “That’s the magic thing we have in this area, the ability to move the power once it’s produced,” he said. “The best wind resource in Texas may not be the best place for farms if there are no transmission capabilities,” he added.

Tax abatements given by local counties have helped some companies, but the concern was that without the federal tax credits, companies could not go forward with projects or expansions ''This legislation should certainly stimulate the industry,” Wortham explained.

Companies use production tax credits to offset the high investment cost of roughly $1 million per turbine to develop a wind project. The PTC extension will extend the current 1.9-cent per kilowatt-hour tax credit through Dec. 31, 2007.

In reality, wind energy is a converted form of solar energy. The sun's radiation heats different parts of the earth at different rates, especially from night to day, but also when different surfaces like water and land absorb or reflect at different rates. This in turn causes portions of the atmosphere to warm differently. Hot air rises, reducing the atmospheric pressure at the earth's surface, and cooler air is drawn in to replace it. The result is wind.

Air has mass, and when it is in motion, it contains the kinetic energy of that motion. A wind energy system transforms the kinetic energy of the wind into mechanical or electrical energy that can be harnessed for practical use. Wind electric turbines generate electricity for homes and businesses and for sale to utilities.

Motorists throughout the Abilene area are becoming familiar with the towering horizontal-axis wind turbines which are most common today, constituting nearly all of the utility-scale turbines in the global market.

The electricity generated by a utility-scale wind turbine is normally collected and fed into utility power lines, where it is mixed with electricity from other power plants and delivered to utility customers. Today, turbines with capacities as large as 5,000 kW (5 MW) are being tested.

The output of a wind turbine depends on the turbine's size and the wind's speed through the rotor. According to Wortham, a steady wind is more desirable than gusting winds for electrical production. Wind turbines being manufactured now have power ratings ranging from 250 watts to 5 megawatts (MW).

According to American Wind Energy Association information, a 10-kW wind turbine can generate about 10,000 kWh annually at a site with wind speeds averaging 12 miles per hour. A 5-MW turbine can produce more than 15 million kWh in a year--enough to power more than 1, 400 households. The average U.S. household consumes about 10,000 kWh of electricity each year.

Wind energy system operations do not produce air or water emissions and do not result in hazardous waste. Nor do they deplete natural resources, cause environmental damage, or require significant amounts of water during operation.

In 2006, the American Wind Energy Association estimates that wind plants in the U.S. will generate 24 billion kilowatt-hours.

The U.S. Department of Energy has announced a goal of obtaining 6% of U.S. electricity from wind by 2020. This goal is consistent with the current rate of growth of wind energy nationwide. As public demand for clean energy grows, and as the cost of producing energy from the wind continues to decline, it is likely that wind energy will provide a growing portion of the nation's energy supply.