Nominal Me

This Was Fun, But...

noreply@blogger.com (Nominal Me) — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 13:47:00 +0000

...it's time to phase out this blog. When I started it, I really thought I would have the time to write thoughtful and entertaining blog posts on a regular basis. Life, and my interests, have changed in the past year or so.

I'm much more interested in photography nowadays, and the blog format is not the best for that.

So my loyal readers, feel free to visit my photo page. I'll keep most of my galleries public and may write witty captions from time to time.

As for this blog, I'll be taking most of the stuff that's here down as I save it on my computer and transfer the photos to my gallery.

Thanks for the both of you who still read this thing!

Aggieland

noreply@blogger.com (Nominal Me) — Thu, 29 Jun 2006 22:00:00 +0000

Fate had me spend my 34th birthday in College Station, TX, home of Texas A&M University. Here are some photos of my visit there. The city is in the middle of nowhere in Texas, and getting there from Dallas made for a peaceful drive.

Student advisors were getting ready for school orientation, which one former alumnus I know described it as a "long brainwashing process where they teach you about Texas A&M history and traditions."

My co-workers and I ate at the "Country Inn & Restaurant". It took us nearly 45 minutes to get there from College Station. My co-worker, who is a Texas A&M alumnus, seemed disappointed in the place. It was not nearly as good as he remembered it as a student. There seemed to be two reasons for this: 1) new ownership and higher prices, and 2) he wasn't in college anymore, and has since had good "adult" meals.

It was OK, but not a great place for a birthday meal.

The sign outside of the restaurant said "C O ED MON : TUE. V TED 1 Hi K N F i D EAT AS EXST" I have no idea what this means. I think you have to be a drunk college student to figure it out.

College Station is home to what are known as "Love Bugs", which apparently are not bugs at all. These are two bugs that are walking together having bug sex right in the middle of the sidewalk.

Apparently, humans do not seem to love them all that much.

They are all over the place, just banging each other and doing their business in public. This led me to believe that the college students here probably do the same when school is in session. Man, I really should have gone here instead of Hartwick College.

One suggestion that he did have that was awesome was "Freebirds World Burrito," which was apparently founded here in College Station. It is sort of like Chipotle, without the corporate sponsorship.

The place was packed.

Although signs asked people not to write on the furniture, people did anyway.

Writing on the walls was OK.

In fact, it was encouraged.

This is Kyle Field, home of the Division I-A Texas A&M Aggie football team. In the days when I was unemployed and had all the time in the world to play the PS2 version of NCAA Football, I once took this university to six consecutive national championships.

It was nice to see the area that I once had so much success at in a more tangible manner. It is a good sized football stadium (82,600 capacity) and has a great tradition around it. It was built in 1927 and 1929 and named after a former dean of agriculture.

This is the Texas A&M practice field, which is covered up during football season to avoid spying.

I stopped by a t-shirt store in a local mall to see what the college students are wearing. Apparently, beer is on their mind when it comes to their education. Shocking.

Texas A&M is the legal home of the 12th man, according to a lawsuit filed against the Seattle Seahawks. Students here use creative t-shirts as a way to express their emotions...and ego...about football and other subjects. Why they have this stuck up their buttocks is explained here.

Football passion runs wild here, and so do football rivalries. The University of Texas (a much nicer campus I visited, by the way) is hated here, and apparently God does not like UT. Here is a creative use of Psalm 75:10, "I will cut off the horns of all the wicked..." I'm not sure about the theology of this one, but what can you expect from a college town?

After they cut off the horns of Texas' cow, they plan to eat it. This is not a friendly place to be UT fan.

They don't just hate the University of Texas here, they also extremely dislike Oklahoma University.

Texas Tech gets no love here either, although no one really takes Texas Tech seriously enough to complain about them very much.

There is a natural order of things here, and it involves overlooking Texas winning the national championship last year.

Here's how to have fun in Aggieland.

So much for respecting the law here in College Station.

College Station seems to be a fun town. It's too bad I was just driving through, as it has a lot of spirit. Perhaps I'll come back here someday.

The George Bush Presidential Library

noreply@blogger.com (Nominal Me) — Thu, 29 Jun 2006 21:00:00 +0000

On my 34th birthday I spent some free time at the George Bush Presidential Library, which is located on the campus of Texas A&M University in College Station, TX. It is the seventh Presidential library and museum I've been to thus far (Hoover, FDR, Truman, Johnson, Nixon, and Reagan).

I was warmly greeted by a volunteer, telling me what I could see inside. I don't believe any of the libraries I've been to do this.

The lobby has the presidential seal in marble.

The Bush legacy is subtly represented in the lobby, with the subject of the library being in the foreground.

In one room, the signatures of various U.S. presidents are on display. It was interesting to note that only Ronald Reagan's had a slant to the left, signifying creativity over organization (although there are other graphology theories relating to a left slant).

The museum exhibit begins with a bust of George Herbert Walker Bush, the 41st President of the United States. Bush is described here as many things, ranging from a son to a president to a citizen.

This was Bush's seat while serving as president.

Bush's father, Prescott, served in the U.S. Senate. He represented the state of Connecticut from 1953 to 1963. His son George would be born in Milton, Massachusetts, on June 12, 1924.

The former president always seemed to be a humble man, which is why it seem poignant to me that his family would get the first billing in his library.

Each one of Bush's children have photos on display.

One photo of the larger clan, taken in Kennebunkport, ME in 2000, is also hung up.

The area of the museum seemed so warm and friendly, with a very interesting design. Right off the bat, I knew this was one of the better presidential libraries.

George H.W. Bush served in the U.S. Navy as a bomber pilot in World War II -- signing up on his 18th birthday -- and was shot down by Japanese forces at one point (due to his actions in completing his mission despite difficult odds, he was given the Distinguished Flying Cross). Here is the identification card he was given as an Ensign. At the Davenport, IA air show, I would see the kind of plane Bush piloted. Bush would fly in 58 combat missions during the war.

Bush would marry Barbara Pierce on January 6, 1945 while still in the Navy. They would wed at First Presbyterian Church in Rye, NY.

After the war, Bush would attend Yale University. He would serve as captain of the baseball and soccer teams, become president of his chapter of the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity, and join Phi Beta Kappa, the national honors society. While captain of his baseball team, he would meet the great Babe Ruth and play in the first College World Series.

After graduating college, Bush would drive to Texas and try to become an entrepreneur in the oil business.

He would find himself in West Texas, living in Midland, TX where I once ate a really fantastic meal. It's also near the second largest meteor crater in America, located in Odessa, TX (lately, my life has been one big circle). He and others would create Zapata Oil which would have some moderate success.

In the coming years, the Bush family would grow. George and Barbara would have six children: George W. (the future president), Pauline Robinson ("Robin", who would die of leukemia at four years old), John (Jeb, who would become governor of Florida), Neil, Marvin, and Dorothy Walker.

As a successful businessman, Bush would be asked to run the then non-existent local Republican party. In 1964, Bush ran for the U.S. Senate and lost in what was a heavily Democratic state in a year that GOP candidate Barry Goldwater was demolished by Lyndon Johnson.

Bush elected in 1966 and 1968 to the House of Representatives from the 7th District of Texas, serving on the important House Ways and Means committee. In 1970, future Secretary of State James A. Baker would manage Bush's second campaign for the United States Senate, in which he would lose to Democrat (and future Vice Presidential candidate against him) Lloyd Bentsen.

In 1971, President Nixon would appoint Bush to be the Ambassador to the United Nations, a cabinet-level post.

In this role, Bush would develop the skills and experience that would make him a strong advocate for American interests overseas. He'd also get some good use out of his passport.

After Nixon was re-elected, Bush was asked to chair the Republican National Committee. It would turn out to be a very tough assignment for the future President, as Nixon would resign in disgrace over the Watergate affair.

The new President Ford considered Bush for the office of Vice President, but went with New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller instead. Bush would be asked to be Chief of the U.S. Liaison office to China.

Soon after, on November 1, 1975, President Ford asked Bush to become the director of Central Intelligence.

His briefcase, which held the greatest secrets our country had at the time, is on display.

There, he would earn the National Intelligence Distinguished Service medal. Despite his honors, however, politics would ensure that Bush would not hold the post for very long.

Then Republican President Ford would struggle hard against Democrat Jimmy Carter for re-election, but would lose much of the East and all of the South in an unsuccessful bid. With a Democrat in office as president, Bush would go on to work in the private sector.

To many people's surprise, George H.W. Bush would announce his candidacy for President on May 1st, 1979 (my father's birthday). Bush would do much better than most people expected (and as the museum failed to note, at this time he coined the phrase "voodoo economics" that would plague President Reagan during his tenure). Bush would achieve an upset victory in Iowa, but it would be Reagan's year.

His campaign caught Reagan's attention, and leading up to the Republican convention he would call then Ambassador Bush and say:

"Hello George, this is Ron Reagan. I'd like to go over to the convention and announce that you're my choice for vice president...if that's alright with you."

The life of George H.W. Bush would never be the same.

The Reagan/Bush ticket would win two national landslide elections. In 1984, the team would win more electoral votes than any other in American history.

Soon after becoming Vice President, Ronald Reagan was shot. Bush was faced with the possibility of immediately being sworn in as the next President of the United States. While on Air Force Two going back to the White House, Bush would write on Air Force Stationary the thoughts on his mind. They included:

1. Enormity of it comes upon me. 20 minutes out of Austin.
2. Pray -- literally -- that R.R. recovers.
3. Element a friend, not just C. in C., President. Decent, warm, kind.
4. Not knowing.
5. Not fly -- intentionally, into S. Lawn.

Bush would discuss these comments, and others he wrote on this paper, with CBS News years later. They show the high character of a man in a very tense situation.

George Bush would run for President in 1988 and choice Indiana's junior senator, Dan Quayle, as his running mate.

Campaigning on a theme of a "kinder and gentler nation," they would win and Bush would become our nation's 41st president.

The museum covers his time in the White House in some depth.

The President would be the last to serve under the Cold War. A piece of the Berlin wall is on display, appropriately enough, at the library of the American leader who was in office when it was brought down.

The era, from just after World War II until the early 90s is discussed using words, declassified documents, and photos.

Documents on display, including comments from then German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, praise Bush's leadership and his place in the reunification of Germany.

Bush's domestic agenda, an area where history does not often laud him in, is described in one section. They include the Americans with Disabilities Act (you can always tell a post-Bush-era elevator by it's large buttons located lower than most people would want them), the Clean Air Act (that is praised in Al Gore's "Inconvenient Truth" movie), other pro-environment moves, and the successful negotiation of NAFTA, the North American Free Trade Agreement, that President Bill Clinton would put through Congress.

One section shows gifts from foreign governments.

Here, Bush shows his personal side and humor. Some of the former President's funnier moments, including this Saturday Night Live skit with his imitator Dana Carvey, are shown to museum visitors.

Like Herbert Hoover's Library, this one does not have a replica of the Oval Office. Instead, Bush's office at Camp David, his retreat center, is on display.

Also shown is a replica of Bush's Air Force One office. You may recall, from this blog, that the actual plane used by Ronald Reagan is in his library.

While Americans give #41 little credit on domestic affairs, he was known as a very skillful participant in foreign affairs. Then Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney would say, "when George Bush was President of the United States, every single head of government in the world knew they were dealing with a genuine leader."

Bush would call on the personal relationships cultivated in the past for his foreign affairs work. For instance, President Bush would be the first foreign leader to call Nelson Mandela when he was released from prison. On a tougher note, Bush sent American troops into Panama to overthrow Panamanian leader General Manuel Noriega. Noriega was brought to the United States for trial as a drug trafficker.

Bush would also show respect to his predecessors, allowing them to receive regular updates on intelligence and national security matters.

Bush's greatest accomplishment was undoubtedly his leadership during the Gulf War, when America's faith in its military might was restored. Bush helped put together an impressive military coalition that included a wide variety of nations and religious affiliations, along with 425,000 American troops.

The Gulf War is given a lot of attention in the museum. It was his greatest realization of his vision of a "New World Order" of international law and global consensus.

This helmet, worn by Lt. Michael A. Kelley, has a Texas A&M Aggie logo painted on his helmet.

In a fitting display of the gratitude of the nation of Kuwait, and the sacrifice made by U.S. soldiers, engraved in a "Gate of Kuwait" are the names of U.S. military personnel who died in the war.

The Gulf War and Bush's foreign policy would not be enough for the President to win re-election. The museum points out that a recession from 1991 to early 1992 led to corporate layoffs and a nervous American public. The recession would be over and economic growth would hit 4.3 percent on election day, but not enough people believed it. Bill Clinton would win 43 percent of the vote and become president of the United States. The library does not mention Bush's campaign promise of "read my lips, no new taxes" and his 1990 compromise with Democrats to break it.

Just outside the library is "The Day The Wall Came Down," by Veryl Goodnight, which is inspired by the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Nearby, the future gravesite of the former President and First Lady sits.

The only actual grave at the site currently belongs to Robin Bush, the current President's sister, who died at an early age.

However, the sign is there and it appears it's only a matter of time until the Bush family rests here.

It is a fantastic library, and is up there with the LBJ museum in Austin, TX. It's only seven dollars, just one more than Herbert Hoover's. This one is a lot better. If you're in Aggieland, do check it out.

RELATED LINKS:
President George H.W. Bush's offical White House biography.

The Wikipedia biography of George H.W. Bush

Wikipedia: George Bush Library

How 'Bout Them Cowboys?

noreply@blogger.com (Nominal Me) — Wed, 28 Jun 2006 20:00:00 +0000

Today I toured Texas Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys. I even wore a blue shirt out of respect, although it was a team U.S. soccer t-shirt.

Texas Stadium, located in the Dallas suburb of Irving, TX, opened its doors in 1971. It cost $35 million to build, which is equal to the contract Deion Sanders got when he officially joined the Cowboys on September 9, 1995.

The tour begins in a luxury box suite. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones used luxury boxes as a way around revenue sharing to make his team one of the most profitable in the league. It allowed him to sign players for huge signing bonuses prior to the NFL salary cap that fueled the team to three Super Bowl titles in the 1990s. For just $35,000, you can get a 10 seat luxury box for an entire season. It's only $4,900 if you'd like to go to just one game. It costs more for larger suites. It does come with a nice view of the game.

There is also a banquet hall on the premises. It comes with a pretty good view as well.

You can see the names of Cowboy greats listed in the stands.

When the sales pitch ended, the fun stuff of the tour began. We got to tour the Cowboys locker room. Since it is off-season, they were mostly empty.

They had Roy Williams' locker mocked up so you could see what they tend to look like.

In the old days of coach Tom Landry, all players names were written in chalk. If Landry came over and wiped it off, it meant you were cut.

Here's QB Drew Bledsoe's locker. I have a lot of respect for Bledsoe, a former Buffalo Bill, although that didn't stop me from lampooning him here a couple of seasons ago. He seems to be a great guy though.

Next, we got to walk down the tunnel that the players use to get to the field.

The players are reminded of past glory each time they walk past it.

Each time the Cowboys won Super Bowls, it's mentioned here.

Even the ones they beat the Buffalo Bills in. This was a hard pill to swallow, but I moved on.

The best part of the tour, however, was getting to play on the field. Because the preseason was in full swing when I visited Lambeau Field, I did not get the chance to do it in Green Bay. I did, in 1984, rush onto the Shea Stadium's field after the last game the "New York" Jets ever played in New York City. I grabbed a patch of grass an planted it in front of my apartment building. This marked the first time I walked onto an NFL field with permission.

The Cowboys use artificial turf, and it's hard as a rock. When I walked onto the Kansas City Chiefs practice field a couple of weeks ago, it was much softer. I can see how this kind of material ends careers.

They gave us time to throw around footballs and kick field goals.

It was the highlight of the tour and one of the best times I've had in a while. I was totally a kid again.
I even paid proper respect to the Dallas Cowboy star.

Texas Stadium has a unique design. The fans, for the most part, stay in the shade. The players still have to deal with the elements. That's the design. Although any Cowboy fan will tell you why there's a hole in the roof of Texas Stadium: "so God could see the Cowboys play."

The Cowboys have a real home field advantage here. The home team decides which side of the field the away team uses, and what kind of uniform they can wear. In the early part of the season, the Cowboys always wear white (thus, the away team must wear darker colors) and sit on the shady sideline (the away team is in the hot sun). Just being on the field for a few minutes made me realize just what kind of an advantage that is. Texas can get really hot.

From the field you get a good look at the glory of Cowboys past...Super Bowl banners.

Soon after, we walked up the stands to end the tour.

Unfortunately, Texas Stadium is falling apart, and a new stadium is being built. I believe this is a chunk of the roof of the stadium. Pieces of it are all over the place.

Here's a section of the roof, and it doesn't look too good.

A big Dallas Star and a statue of Tom Landry greets you as you enter the stadium.

Landry was the team's first coach and led them to two Super Bowl titles.

Wow, what a fantastic tour. It was so much fun that I think I'll hate the Cowboys just a little less. Take advantage of it while you can, the Cowboys will not be playing there much longer.

Dallas, TX

noreply@blogger.com (Nominal Me) — Wed, 28 Jun 2006 17:00:00 +0000

One great thing about traveling all the time is that you get to see people you've lost touch with. This is a photo of Jennifer and I. We once worked together at Edelman (formerly Edelman PR Worldwide) a few years ago. It was nice to catch up.

Here are a couple of quick shots of the Dallas Skyline. I really didn't do much in the city other than see where JFK got shot and view Texas Stadium in nearby Irving, TX. If I have some more time someday, perhaps I'll check out what the city has to offer.

All I have to say though about this place right now is that people in Dallas are very dangerous drivers. It is one of the top three worst cities for driving stupidity, joining Los Angeles and Houston, TX.

JFK Has Been Shot!

noreply@blogger.com (Nominal Me) — Tue, 27 Jun 2006 20:00:00 +0000

Perhaps the most monumental thing ever to happen in Dallas, TX is the assassination of President John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963. The site has turned into a tourist attraction for history and conspiracy buffs, as you can easily walk to the location where JFK was killed.

Two white "X" marks identify the estimated spots where bullets hit the former President (they are difficult to see here, but if you look at the lower center of the photo, right by the left traffic line, you'll see one of them).

There is no zig-zag paint for the magic bullet though, which was kind of disappointing.

The famous grassy knoll is there as well, and you can walk right up to it. This is fence where (possibly) a gunman (or two, or three, or seventeen) fired shots at the president.

This is the view from the grassy knoll. As you can tell, it's much closer to the "X" where the fatal blow hit Kennedy than the Texas Book Depository Building (although I did use a slight zoom lens for this photo, but probably to the same degree as I did when taking a picture from the "X" to the Book Depository Building).

In contrast, here is the view from the Book Depository Building, now the location of the Sixth Floor Museum that discussed the day in question. The location of the shots hitting Kennedy are in two points of the centered part of the road. On the top right you can see the fence where shots may have been fired from.

It defies logic that a gunman would miss from the grassy knoll (as the government now believes) and that another, from the this distance, would hit two out of three from such a location.

This is why most Americans do not believe that Lee Harvey Oswald killed Kennedy. Right next to the fence, there are a handful of people promoting conspiracy theories, like this man (who I believe identified himself as Mike, or Fred Brown) who says he was there (at the age of 12) when Kennedy was killed. He gives a very interesting and entertaining case for the U.S. government's involvement in the JFK assassination. Then he offers to sell you a magazine for $10 that gives you more information.

Later on I would see a list of eye witnesses from that day and there was no Mike or Fred Brown listed. It's possible that I got his name wrong, or perhaps the powers that be have eliminated all record of him (if this website is shut down for no reason, you now know why...).

Some people have used the space to pay their respects to the fallen president in the form of graffiti on the fence where shots may have been fired.

Others have used it to promote conspiracy theories: like one that says the FBI killed JFK.

An then there are some people who used it to make sure everyone in the city knew that the Miami Heat beat the Dallas Mavericks for the 2006 NBA title. Some wounds may never heal.

Soon after, I would find definitive photographic proof that someone who looked really mean was at the grassy knoll. The conspiracy is solved! Maybe Mike/Fred Brown was right!

There are two main stories when it comes to the JFK assassination: 1) Lee Harvey Oswald did it (a.k.a. the "official" story, and 2) the government, the mafia, al Queda, O.J. Simpson and Saddam Hussein did it.

In what was once the Texas Book Depository Building is the Sixth Floor Museum, which promotes the former President's life and official version of his death.

In the museum, you will find various photographs about Kennedy and his assassination.

In anticipation of President Kennedy's visit, thousands of people lined the streets to view his motorcade. More than 75 amateur and professional photographers took over 500 exposures in and around Dealey Plaza. It turns out that this would be a defining moment of network television news, launching the career of famous liberals like Dan Rather to national notoriety.

It would also give enough fodder/evidence of a conspiracy that would captivate us 40 years later.

The Sixth Floor Museum spends quite a bit of time on the Kennedy Presidency, establishing the context of his death and the effect it had on our nation.

The motorcade arrived in Dealey Plaza and then turned right from Main to Houston Street. If a lone gunman sitting on the sixth floor of the Book Depository Building was to fire a weapon at the President, this was the street to do it on. He would have had two or three head on shots at relatively close range. Instead, shots were fired seconds after Kennedy's car made a 120 degree turn into Elm Street passing Oswald's supposed location.

When the limousine had passed the depository, shots were fired at JFK for an estimated time span of 6 to 24 seconds. During the shooting, the limousine is believed to have slowed from over 13 mph to only 9 mph.

This is where Oswald is believed to have fired the shots that killed Kennedy. The Warren Commissionnoted that three empty shells were found in this room in the then Book Depository Building. A rifle identified as the one used in the shooting -- Oswald's Italian military surplus 6.5x52 mm Model 91/38 Carcano -- was found hidden nearby.

From the Sixth Floor Museum, you can see where the President was shot. You can also see why it seems unlikely that a gunman would have waited for JFK to get to this spot to shoot him, when better options had existed before.

After Kennedy was dead, security for the new President Johnson was an issue. Johnson did not want to leave without Jackie Kennedy who would not leave without her husband. In spite of Secret Service pressure to get to the safety of Air Force One, Johnson said, "I will not leave without President and Mrs.. Kennedy." As a compromise, it was decided Johnson could wait for the Kennedys on board Air Force One and so he was evacuated from Parkland Hospital.

This helped fuel a controversy that still exists today. No autopsy was performed on Kennedy, as per Texas State law at the time.

Nearby the Sixth Floor Museum is the Consipracy Museum, where theories on the assassinations of JFK, his brother Robert Kennedy, and Martin Luther King, Jr. are explored.

This represents a hodge podge of "the government did it" stories. There's even a conspiracy tree.

Competing theories of the JFK assassination are discussed. In this scenario, nine shots are believed to have been fired from two points at the Book Depository Building, another from the next block, and more from the grassy knoll. Even the museum staff attendant thought this one was "a waste of canvas", but R.B. Cutler, the author of this idea, was the place's co-founder and therefore his theory was included.

A Warren Report display shows here that three shots were fired, all by Oswald from the Book Depository Building. The two red lines indicated hits, the third blue one a miss.

The Warren Report would make diagrams of the damage to Kennedy's head. These replicas show where the bullets hit and what damage they did.

Believe it or not, it is in dispute where exactly in Kennedy's body the first bullet hit him. This photo of Kennedy's shirt seems to contradict the Warren Report on the entry wound of the first bullet. Nothing, not even some of the smallest facts, seem to be in agreement. Years later, then future President Gerald Ford would admit to changing a sentence in the report about this information.

The Warren Report would propose what is now known as the Single Bullet Theory, created by now U.S. Senator Arlen Specter. This is how the bullet supposedly hit both Kennedy and then Texas-Governor John Connally. A top-side view of the theory may be found here.

Fifteen years after the Warren Commission report, the House Select Committee on Assassinations came up with a theory, based primarily on dictabelt evidence, that President Kennedy was assassinated possibly as a result of a conspiracy.

They proposed that four shots had been fired during the assassination; Oswald fired the first, second, and fourth bullets from the Book Depository Building. Acoustic evidence suggested that there was a high probability that a second assassin in the grassy knoll fired a third bullet but missed. The diagram above shows that theory.

My photos above, showing the relative distances of the grassy knoll and the Book Depository Building, make it very hard for me to believe. But that is the official story, according to the U.S. government and its many experts.

Dr. Robert Nelson McClelland, was one of the doctors that treated President Kennedy in the emergency room in Dallas. Dr. McClelland testified to the Warren Commission and the Assassination Records Review Board. He approved a sketch of the head wound (click on the link to find a copy of it). The new committee had another diagram of the head wound created, which is above.

This chart sums everything up. This is a description of everyone who had a hand in killing JFK. It's so complicated that I can't figure it out. What a great conspiracy! It's good museum fodder.

James Tague is believed by some to be a third man injured due to the Kennedy Assassination. Most people believe that it was a stray fragment of a bullet. Others believe Osama Bin Ladin shot him. The Conspiracy Museum has this board talking about his experience.

Then there's the three hobos, or homeless men that were detained shortly after the assassination. One of them looks like Charles Voyde Harrelson, actor Woody Harrelson's father. By the late 1970s, other researchers have identified at least five of the three, well at least they think they did. The tramps may include Thomas Vallee, Frank Sturgis, Daniel Carswell, E. Howard Hunt or Fred Chrisman. What does this mean? I have no idea.

A diagram of the Martin Luther King, Jr. assassination was created as well.

The Robert F. Kennedy assassination was part of the committee's study too. There seems to be a conspiracy about this as well.

Wikipedia tells us:

Just before the 1964 presidential election, President Johnson ordered the Warren Commission documentations to be sealed against public availability for 75 years (until 2039). However, in 1992 Congress enacted the President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act of 1992. Congress questioned the legitimate need for continued protection of such records, after three decades of secrecy. The purpose of the Act was to gather and accelerate the public release of assassination related documents.

The Act requires all documents related to the assassination that have not been destroyed to be released to the public by no later than 2017.

Today, hundreds of foreign streets bear John F. Kennedy's name. There are 27 in Greece alone. Go Greece!

This was a fantastic day. I learned so much. I learned that...I have no idea what. Kennedy may have been killed in a massive conspiracy, or he may have tripped over a banana peel. We will never know, but historians will likely search for clues long after I've passed away.

If you are a history buff, however, you really should see things for yourself. You probably will not come out of it with any answers though. It's doubtful anyone ever will.

RELATED LINKS:
Information on the Kennedy Assassination

JFK Assassination Research Materials

Bogus Information on the JFK Assassination

The context of the JFK Assassination

Wikipedia on the Assasination of John F. Kennedy

The President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection -- the official government database

Graphic photos of the Kennedy Assassination.

JFK Autopsy Photos

Des Moines, IA

noreply@blogger.com (Nominal Me) — Sun, 25 Jun 2006 20:00:00 +0000

I spent a week in Clive, IA, right by Des Moines. It was a fairly lazy time, as I needed some rest and relaxation. Here are some random photos of things I saw while hanging around there. Des Moines offers many things, including breathtaking sunsets.

Apparently, people are Minnesota Vikings fans here.

They really don't like the Green Bay Packers.

It began to rain during the Des Moines Art Festival, leading to this photo.

Here is the state capitol.

This is the downtown area. It was a nice city. It proved to be a nice place to relax.

Photo Essay: Des Moines Art Festival

noreply@blogger.com (Nominal Me) — Sat, 24 Jun 2006 20:00:00 +0000

Today I went to the Des Moines Art Festival in Iowa, featuring 150 carefully selected artists. Last year 230,000 people attended the three day affair. The festival is ranked third among 600 fine arts festivals nationwide. Below are works of art I found interesting, with website links to the artists (if I could find them). Buy their stuff!

It as a well attended affair.

"You May Already Be A Weiner," by Jerry Berta.

Here's me in between "Egghead" ($5,800) and "C'Est La Vie" ($7,000) by Kimber Fiebiger. I'm not included in the price.

"Jester Fountain" ($12,000) by Kimber Fiebiger.

Brian Olsen's Art In Action show was on hand. Olsen would throw paint on the canvas and a famous image would come out.

He did this was to various Willie Nelson tunes.

He attracted a huge crowd.

"Reclaiming The Sacred Lost: Bridget" ($5,500) by Lynn Creighton. Creighton's face is inside the sculpture.

A work by Randall Reimer that won best of metal works.

Kim and Cliff Erickson of Erickson Art Glass.

Ron Schmidt of Tesquesta, FL.

Work by Toby McGee of Oklahoma City, OK.

Steven Olszewski of Pinckney, MI.

Tony Cray from New Melle, MO.

Bruce Niemi of Knosha, WI.

Various works by Mary Miller of Vandalia, IL.

Thomas Sheehan of Oak Park, IL.

Various work by Tom Radca of Port Washington, OH.

Suzy Scarborough, who has an amazing ability to paint eyes with expression.

Andrew Carson of Kinetic Sculpture.

More by Andrew Carson of Kinetic Sculpture.

Kimber Fiebiger of Minneapolis, MN.

Nicario Jimenez of the Andes won best of show due to 3-D wood images like these. They were spectacular.

A very frighteningly real sculpture by Marc Sijan.

Here's a real person (right) with a fake person (left) created by Marc Sijan.

More by Marc Sijan.

The hottest woman at the whole art festival was a sculpture by Marc Sijan. I asked her out but she gave me the cold shoulder. The cop is a sculpture too.

Larry Fox of Omena, MI.

Here's me participating in live art! I was holding onto string while other people did it too. Fun!

It was a great event. Art is kool man!

Herbert Hoover Presidential Library & Museum

noreply@blogger.com (Nominal Me) — Fri, 23 Jun 2006 22:00:00 +0000

Today I made a long drive from Des Moines to West Branch, IA to see the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library & Museum. Hoover was Iowa's only President. Other than the fact that Hoover has a dam and a public interest group named after him, I knew very little about the 31st President of the United States.

With a $6 price of admission, this is the cheapest of the Presidential libraries I've been to, which include FDR's, Truman's, Johnson's, Carter's, and Reagan's.

The Museum would cover his life and times. Herbert Hoover began with relatively humble beginnings, being the son of a blacksmith and businessman.

Both of Hoover's parents would die when he was a very young man. He would go on to live with his Aunt Millie and Uncle Allan Hoover on a farm near this location. Raised in the Quaker tradition, Hoover would read this Bible on a daily basis.

Hoover would move to Oregon when he was 11 to live with his uncle, Dr. Henry John Minthorn.

He eventually went to Stanford University in Palo Alto, joining the school's first class. He graduated in 1895 with a degree in geology and without any job prospects. Eventually, he got a job in the California gold mines shoveling ore in Nevada City.

He became a mining engineer and that took him to some interesting locations, like Australia in 1897, a job in which he lied about his age to get. He would be very successful at this job, eventually getting a raise to $10,000 a year!

Mining equipment from this time period is on display.

On February 10, 1899, Hoover married Lou Henry, whom he had met at Stanford. Before you think that Hoover was a really liberal guy, Lou was a woman (an impressive one too, she was the first one to graduate from the school with a geology degree). Artifacts from the wedding are on display.

They left immediately for China, where Hoover continued his career. In 1900, they survived the Boxer Rebellion, an uprising of Chinese nationalists calling itself "I Ho Tuan". Hoover's village, Tientsen, eventually became under siege, as bullets flew near their home.

At one point, an artillery shell hit their dwelling place (fragments of that shell are on display above). Shortly thereafter, Lou Hoover would read her own obituary. Eventually, U.S. Marines would rescue the Hoovers and other Americans nearby.

Hoover became a partner in Bewick, Moreing and Co. in 1901. He would travel the globe with his job, and made a considerable amount of money. Hoover retired from the company in 1908 and established his own international firm of engineering consultants based in London. This German pin helmet is an example of the places he saw and the cultures he interacted with.

Around 1914, war was brewing and international affairs became more complicated and violent. As a self-made millionaire by age 40, Hoover was in a unique position to help. Having been raised in the Quaker tradition, he is said to have believed in being "humane and generous to others". His life would change considerably at this time.

Around this time he began to help Americans stranded in Europe after the breakout of World War I and served as Chairman of Commission for Relief in Belgium, a country dependent on 80% of its food from imports that was then surrounded by British and German forces.

In 1917, he came the United States Food Administrator for President Wilson. From 1918-19, he founded the Hoover Institution of War, Revolution, and Peace at Stanford University. It was a think tank dedicated to political affairs.

In 1919 he would attend the Versailles Peace Conference and have a life mask made of him. It's probably the oddest exhibit of any presidential library. The treaty worked out so well everyone decided to fight again a generation later.

The roaring twenties would take place, and the country transformed. The museum has a section on it.

From 1921-28, he served as Secretary of Commerce for Presidents Warren G. Harding and Calvin Coolidge.

Conveniences like irons became commonplace.

Washing machines! No more washing your clothes in the nearby river!

More importantly, Hoover helped set the rules and regulations for the cutting edge of mass communication systems: like terrestrial radio.

In 1928, Coolidge decided he would not run for another term. With Hoover being extremely popular, he was the clear candidate to run under the banner of the Republican party.

Hoover would dominate New York Democrat Alfred E. Smith, the first Catholic to get a major party nomination. Being Catholic was a liability for Smith (it still is today), as opponents spread rumors that the Pope would run the country if he got elected.

As a popular reformer and visionary, Hoover was elected to very high expectations. This telegram of congratulations came from Thomas Edison.

He was elected President of the United States to very high expectations. He practices a "Good Neighbor Policy" towards Latin America (a phrase made famous by FDR) and withdrew troops from Haiti and Nicaragua. He and former Secretary of State Henry Stimson negotiated a boarder dispute between Chile and Peru. He is also credited with signing the London Naval Treaty, reforming Federal courts, creating the Federal Farm Board and Veterans Administration, regulating stocks and securities, increasing acreage of national forests, and expanding the national park system.

On June 25, 1929, President Hoover signed the $165 million Boulder Canyon Project Act, which would become the Hoover Dam.

Oh yeah, and there was a little thing called the Great Depression. A stock market crash on October 29, 1929 -- where $30 billion of wealth disappeared -- triggered a time period of pain and disaster for America. The library positions him as doing more in this regard than any previous president, "paving the way for the anti-depression New Deal measures".

Between 1929 and 1933, America's economic output was cut in half. Nearly six thousand banks went under, taking $3 billion of uninsured dollars with them. The bond market suffered when the real estate boom went bust. The worst drought in U.S. history took place in an area the size of Europe. In 1932, unemployment reached over twelve million people, 23.6% of the population.

A sign at the museum says that Hoover's greatest failure was his "failure to dramatize himself," which seems odd in the context of a 23.6% unemployment rate. Now I know who President Hoover was...he was the guy in charge of a disaster.

Hoover's efforts were not enough. Hoover would be demolished by Franklin D. Roosevelt in the 1932 election, losing all but six states (including Iowa) and bringing in a Democratic majority that would last more than 50 years. Hoover was shocked and stunned by the loss.

In his final weeks as president, a banking crisis took place. Hoover had a suggested course of action, but wanted the president-elect to join with him on the solution. FDR balked on the idea, and Hoover's presidency ended in another failure. Shortly after assuming office, Roosevelt enacted the exact same policy that Hoover had suggested.

He had to repair his image in the years after his presidency, but eventually would serve as an elder statesman, and is credited (by the museum) as defining the modern post-presidency. He would do things like meet with Hitler and try to convince America not to get into World War II. Man, even after he left office he seemed on the wrong side of history. Why would the museum put up a photo with him and Hitler? Are they trying to get us to hate the guy?

After his wife's death, Hoover would move to New York and open up an office.

Here is a replica of his Manhattan office. It was at this point that I realized that there would be no replica of the Oval Office, a staple of the Presidential library system. Man, Hoover must have been bitter about his experience.

A piece of the Berlin Wall is on display. Hoover would not see the end of the Cold War, as he would die on October 20, 1964.

The museum had a temporary exhibit on the 1960s. It consisted mostly of photos, clothes, and music from the decade.

The grounds have other sites, like a schoolhouse and his birthplace.

But the site to see is the burial site of Hoover and his wife. It was simple and appropriate for a humble man who did his best.

This is probably the most depressing of Presidential libraries, far surpassing the apologetic Jimmy Carter library in this regard. Hoover's legacy is not a good one, and seemed on the wrong side of history at every turn while president. He did seem to be a nice guy however, for whatever that is worth. But if we are truly to understand history, we must focus on our country's hard times, as it puts everything we have today in perspective.

In light of that, the trek to the Hoover library was well worth it.

An Inconvenient Truth

noreply@blogger.com (Nominal Me) — Thu, 22 Jun 2006 21:00:00 +0000

I saw the Al Gore movie, "An Inconvenient Truth" today and was very impressed. In documentary form, it follows the former vice president of the United States on a worldwide tour as he gives a slideshow presentation on what is defined as our climate crisis.

Gore's movie suggests that unless we act now, the world may face a global environmental crisis in ten years. Epic destruction could include floods, droughts, and heat waves that are worse than any other we've ever experienced.

One thing I learned was that when the Northern Hemisphere is experiencing summer, the planet absorbs more heat (and is therefore more hot) than when it experiences winter. The reason is simple: there is more land mass in the Northern Hemisphere than in the Southern. Ice is part of that delicate balance, however. The more it melts, the more potential for things to get very much out of control.

He makes his case in stunning detail, using charts, graphs, photos, and animated cartoons to make his point. What may be the biggest surprise of the movie is that Gore manages to make streams of data interesting and compelling. He also explains difficult concepts well, and puts things into their proper context (as far as I could tell).

This graphic demonstrates how individual components of the Earth affect global temperatures, and is supported by various other concepts. Ice tends to reflect sunlight, whereas water absorbs it. If our environment traps more heat into our atmosphere, as most environmentalists say we are doing due to our habits as a species, it causes the ice at the polar caps to melt. This means that each year there is less ice to reflect sunlight hitting our planet, and more heat being absorbed into our globe (and the problem compounds further as the water gets hotter). When sunlight hits water, some of it turns into water vapor...and that turns into precipitation (or rain and snow).

Annual precipitation is very much on the rise. Every time Gore shows historical records dating back thousands -- or even millions -- of years, our current numbers are literally off the charts. For instance, 2005 was the worst storm season on record. One Website states that the ten hottest years on record have all taken place since 1990.

The number of Category 4 and 5 hurricanes has almost doubled in the last 30 years. How does water vapor fit into that? Hurricanes feed off of hot water vapor. The more that exists in a given area, the stronger the storm. It's possible that Hurricane Katrina, which devastated the Gulf Coast region, will be remembered as a "tipping point" for global warming.

Both the movie and Popular Science, in its July 2006 issue, shows two photos of Glacier National Park: one in the summer of 1938 covered in ice and another in the summer of 2005 almost empty of it. The magazine reports that the ice has shrunk by 70 percent in the past century or so.

The movie's message is that global warming is not just a scientific matter, nor is it just a political one: our role in the affect of our planet's weather is a moral issue. We are hurting the planet and we are hurting ourselves. We must understand this and act.

The Website that promotes the movie lists some interesting facts to support the theory that mankind's excessive generation of carbon dioxide is worsening global warming:

- Malaria has spread to higher altitudes in places like the Colombian Andes, 7,000 feet above sea level.
- The flow of ice from glaciers in Greenland has more than doubled over the past decade.
- At least 279 species of plants and animals are already responding to global warming, moving closer to the poles.

The same Website predicts that:

- Deaths from global warming will double in just 25 years -- to 300,000 people a year.
- Global sea levels could rise by more than 20 feet with the loss of shelf ice in Greenland and Antarctica, devastating coastal areas worldwide.
- Heat waves will be more frequent and more intense.
- Droughts and wildfires will occur more often.
- The Arctic Ocean could be ice free in summer by 2050.
- More than a million species worldwide could be driven to extinction by 2050.

If sea levels rise as they are estimated to, Manhattan's World Trade Center Memorial Site (if they ever build anything on it) will be flooded. Doom and gloom represent the end of the movie, just before a call to action.

According to the movie Website, the "average American generates about 15,000 pounds of carbon dioxide every year from personal transportation, home energy use and from the energy used to produce all of the products and services we consume." The Website offers options on how we can reduce that amount.

The crisis of Global Warming is not without its critics. The movie mixes real images with simulated ones, and it is difficult to know which is which at times. IMDB points out that the "continuous shot of the Ocean Surface to the Ice Shelf is presented to the audience as actual footage or Antarctica, when really it is a CGI shot taken from the opening credits of the movie 'The Day After Tomorrow'."

I am not a scientist so I cannot say if any of this is true. What I can say, however, is that the movie and the former Vice President make for a very compelling case. They seem to tie their loose ends up very well, and explain how things happen and may get worse. It is a very convincing argument for global warming, one that any serious intellectual should expose themselves to. I would be temped to see someone refute this movie on a point-by-point basis, doing so in a way that is equally as thorough and compelling.

As for me, the movie forced me to act right away. The air conditioning in the theater was up so high I complained to the manager. After seeing a movie about carbon emissions and its effect on the environment in a room nearly freezing from an air conditioner, I told the theater manager that "the irony of it could not escape me."

He said he would turn it down. It was my first post-movie environmental victory.

UPDATES:

The Los Angeles Times recently reported on the affect of global warming on Greenland:

Should all of the ice sheet ever thaw, the meltwater could raise sea level 21 feet and swamp the world’s coastal cities, home to a billion people. It would cause higher tides, generate more powerful storm surges and, by altering ocean currents, drastically disrupt the global climate.

The article continues:

By all accounts, the glaciers of Greenland are melting twice as fast as they were five years ago, even as the ice sheets of Antarctica — the world’s largest reservoir of fresh water — also are shrinking, researchers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the University of Kansas reported in February.

President Bush admits that Global Warming is happening.

RELATED LINKS:
The Earth is the Hottest It's Been Since Jesus Walked the Earth The report is a matter of dispute.

Rotten Tomatoes aggregates reviews of An Inconvenient Truth

An Inconvienent Truth trailer on Apple.com

The Vote Solar Iniative

Conservation International on Climate Change

The Climate Crisis Blog

Science Has Spoken, Global Warming Is A Myth

The Global Warming Myth and Its Selfish Defenders

What Is Global Warming?

The Pentagon Sounds the Alarm on Global Warming

Don't Ignore "An Inconvenient Truth"

An Inconvenient Truth...Because It's Lie

Kansas City Wizards Soccer

noreply@blogger.com (Nominal Me) — Mon, 19 Jun 2006 19:38:00 +0000

I returned to Arrowhead Stadium to see Major League Soccer action. Specifically, the home team Kansas City Wizards hosted the Chicago Fire. With a 5-4-2 record coming into the game, Kansas City was second in the MLS Eastern Division.

No one seemed to know about it.

Like most places in America, including New York, futobol is not on the radar screen. A couple of people I spoke to prior to the game did not know what the Kansas City Wizards were. The team, named after the "Wizard of Oz" (Get it? Kansas?), is one of the ten charter members of Major League Soccer.

Due to this, I managed to score third-row, center-field seats. It may be the closest ticket I've ever had to a major league sporting event. It gave me ample opportunity to watch players like Wizards rookie Lance Watson (#21) who showed a lot of hustle as a midfielder. His aggression helped him lead the team in penalties with three. Go Lance!

Alex Zotinca, a Romanian native but now a U.S. citizen, served as a defensive player.

Gonzalo Segares, a defender for the Chicago Fire, was once one of three MAC Hermann Trophy finalists, awarded annually to the best collegiate player. So we were watching some good players here.

It was a high scoring and exciting affair. Chicago Fire forward Andy Herron would score at the fourth minute, making it 1-0 Chicago. Herron proved to be my favorite Fire player as he responded to my heckling with a friendly smile.

At the 27th minute, Wizards forward Scott Sealy would answer with a game tying goal.

The fans went wild. One guy even had a green plastic horn. How festive!

Three minutes later, the Fire's forward Nate Jaqua would retake the lead for Chicago and the crowd calmed down for a while.

Later on, the Wizards had a penalty kick shot that they could not convert to make it 2-2.

All would not be lost, however. Sealy would respond for Kansas City with a second goal to tie things up again at minute 39. The first half would end with the game tied and the fans tense.

The second half would prove to be a defensive battle. The Wizards would have another penalty kick opportunity that proved to sail harmlessly over the net for no goal.

Soccer can be a fast a brutal sport, and this player took a head on collision with a Chicago Fire player. He was on the ground for a few minutes until the medical team got him to leave the field. The funny thing about soccer medics that is unlike any other sport is that their main goal seems to be getting the game going. Their primary job is to cart the player off the field so that things can move on. In American football, a player can remain on the ground for five minutes due to a minor injury. Not so in soccer. Get 'em off the grass and start play again.

The 2-2 stalemate would be broken in the 89th minute when Jose Burciaga Jr. (#6) kicked in the winning goal for Kansas City. Burciaga kick deflected into the goal off Chicago goalkeeper Zach Thornton's hands, and was his second straight game-winning shot for the Wizards.

The fans were happy! They had a scare in penalty time when the Fire's Logan Pause almost scored a tying goal. It was waved off and the Wizards were victorious.

It was a fun time and it took place on a day when the U.S. soccer team fared very well against European powerhouse Italy, keeping their World Cup chances alive. In truth, the U.S. team should have won the game if not for very active referees getting involved in the game. The U.S. lost two players to red cards and had a winning goal waved off due to a non-existent offside penalty.

I'm an American, why am I talking about soccer? We don't care. More and more I am. I'm certainly into soccer more than baseball now, and it's getting close to tying my passion for basketball. It will never be pro football to me, but probably nothing ever will be.

It's a fun sport, however, and it's a great cheap ticket. If you have a MLS team in your area, you should check it out. You'll get close to the action and have a fun time.

Sometimes, the rest of the world is right.

RELATED LINKS:
My Q&A with Ante Razov, a major league soccer player

Photo Essay: Soccer Fans (Photos of the U.S. vs. Panama CONCACAF Final)

Who Has The Best BBQ in Kansas City?

noreply@blogger.com (Nominal Me) — Sun, 18 Jun 2006 19:00:00 +0000

One of the joys of traveling all the time is finding truly good meals. I had some ample opportunities to do so in the Kansas City, MO area. Barbeque, apparently, is king around here. But which restaurant would have the best BBQ in Kansas City? I would find out.

The first place we tried was Arthur Bryant's Barbeque on Brooklyn Avenue (yeah New York!) in downtown Kansas City. Interestingly enough, if you do a Google search for "the best bbq in Kansas city" their Website is the top choice. The place opened in the 1920s and is a nationally known restaurant.

The place had a simple interior, as clearly it's reputation is based on the food alone. The decor has not stopped famous people like former presidents Carter and Truman, as well as filmmakers like Steven Spielberg from eating there.

For dinner I had a pound of meat on a plate. It included chicken, ribs, and sausage. I had four different choices of BBQ sauces, all of which were good. The ribs were disappointing as they were dry and hard to eat. The chicken was good and the sausage phenomenal. The sausage was so good I wished that I just had a pound of that alone.

All in all, the sausage and the sauce -- as well as a very friendly staff -- made this a place worth visiting. Plus, who often do you get to eat off a metal plate?

My second try was the Smokehouse Bar-B-Que, which got negative reviews from my coworkers. The service was below average (try getting a napkin in the place, it took me until my meal was over. I would have complained to the manager but it was the manager that was taking so long).

The food quality was very good though. Smokehouse featured meat-falling-off-the-bones good ribs. The sauce was OK, but the meat was prepared perfectly and beat out Arthur Bryants in that area. If it was ribs vs. ribs, this place would have won it, but Bryant's sausage beat out anything I ate here.

Next up was Fiorella's Jack Stack Barbecue, which won this competition hands down. I had a spectacular meal there. The Crown Prime Beef Short Ribs was some of the best prepared meat I've ever had. It was so perfectly prepared that you could cut it with a butter knife and it seemed to have the texture of pudding.

It was amazing. The chicken wings there were solid. As you can see from the photo, there was little left of the meat when I was done. The meal was so good, I kept eating after I was full. I'd go there again in a heartbeat. If I lived in Kansas City, I'd probably gain 100 pounds.

Next we tried KC Masterpiece Barbecue & Grill, located in nearby Overland Park, KS. It just could not compare to the others in terms of service and food quality, although it was not bad (except for the baby back ribs, which were too dry and overcooked to eat).

We had the meat sampler and it was just OK. I will say this for the place, they had awesome beans. Unfortunately, that's not enough when compared to the other places.

My rankings:
1. Fiorella's
2. Arthur Bryant's
3. Smokehouse
4. KC Masterpiece

To be fair, I did not check out Oklahoma Joe's BBQ & Catering or Gates & Sons Bar-b-q, both of which came highly recommended. Unfortunately, I only had so much time in the city and so much room in my stomach.

RELATED LINKS:
Citysearch: the best BBQ in Kansas City 2003

Citysearch: The best BBQ in Kansas City 2005

Arrowhead Stadium & the Chiefs Practice Facility

noreply@blogger.com (Nominal Me) — Sat, 17 Jun 2006 22:00:00 +0000

Today I had the chance to walk around Arrowhead Stadium, which is the home of the NFL franchise Kansas City Chiefs. The Chiefs played its first game here in 1972 against the then-nearby St. Louis Cardinals. The stadium seems to have a special power:

Undoubtedly one of the finest facilities in the NFL, Arrowhead and the fans who consistently fill it (43 consecutive sell-outs) have helped produce a distinct home-field advantage for the Chiefs. Since 1992, no NFL team has a better regular season home winning percentage than Kansas City, which has an incredible 27-5 (.844) record. Nearly 30 years after the first plans were being devised for Kansas City’s unique two stadium set-up, other metropolitan areas including Cincinnati and Baltimore are, only now, in the process of attempting to construct similar facilities.

The stadium is also home to the Major League Soccer franchise Kansas City Wizards.

The stadium has an old-school feel to it, with huge stone hallways and older style seats.

There is no doubt which team this stadium is for as a Kansas City Chiefs logo is on every row in the stadium.

Former Chiefs greats like the "Nigerian Nightmare" Christian Okoye fill the walls of their hall of fame. Man, I used to hate that guy. One Monday Night Football game in 1990 had his Chiefs beating the Buffalo Bills 33-6. Jerk.

Right next to Arrowhead is Kauffman Stadium, the home of the Kansas City Royals:

Opened as Royals Stadium on April 10, 1973, it is recognized throughout baseball as one of the game's most beautiful ballparks. Since then, many exciting games have been contested, including the 1973 All-Star Game, three no-hitters, playoff games in 1976, '77, '78, '80, '81, '84 and '85 and seven World Series tilts in 1980 and 1985. The facility was officially re-named in honor of Ewing M. Kauffman in a ceremony at the stadium on July 2, 1993. Since its opening, a total of 53,062,406 people have visited the stadium, including a record 2,477,700 in 1989.

The sprawling complex also features a practice facility used by the Chiefs. The building is also used for special events. Prior to the Kansas City Wizards - Chicago Fire match, they hosted fans watching the United States-Italy World Cup match.

Surrounding the building are the bits and pieces of a football field, like the goalposts.

Here's me trying my worth as an offensive lineman.

I think I'd be better off as a coach. There's less stress on the shoulders.

Inside there is a mini-football field with a regulation goalpost.

Outside there is a full-sized field, separate from Arrowhead.

The indoor area appears to use natural grass, it appears, just as the stadium does. Arrowhead replaced Astroturf with grass in 1994.

Unfortunately, there are no public tours of Arrowhead anymore (thanks a lot Jihad), but it's well worth seeing a game there if you can.

The Buck Stops Here in Independence, MO!

noreply@blogger.com (Nominal Me) — Wed, 14 Jun 2006 20:00:00 +0000

While touring Kansas City, MO, I visited the Harry S. Truman Presidential Museum and Library, located in nearby Independence, MO. Regular readers of my blog will know that I have visited a series of Presidential museums (Roosevelt, Johnson, Nixon, Carter, and Reagan), so this was a big treat. Unlike the previous places I’ve visited, however, this was the first time I arrived without a solid opinion on the person’s legacy. The truth is, that other than dropping the bomb on the Japs in World War II, I know very little about Truman and what he did in office. It turns out that the Truman presidency had a profound impact on the would I would grow up in about 30 years later.

Truman was famous for the saying, "the Buck Stops Here," based on a plaque that sat on his desk while President. The saying has its roots in a contemporary term:

The saying "the buck stops here" derives from the slang expression "pass the buck" which means passing the responsibility on to someone else. The latter expression is said to have originated with the game of poker, in which a marker or counter, frequently in frontier days a knife with a buckhorn handle, was used to indicate the person whose turn it was to deal. If the player did not wish to deal he could pass the responsibility by passing the "buck," as the counter came to be called, to the next player.

Like all of the previous presidential libraries I’ve been to, it features a replica of the Oval Office in which the subject served.

The museum tells its story mostly through photos and original documents. Since enough time has passed, quite a few of the articles on display were once highly classified.

Truman served as vice president for only 82 days when Franklin Delano Roosevelt died. Truman would be faced with serious decisions right away, many of which molded the world we live in today.

Newspaper headlines create an account of some of these major events, like the signing of the United Nations charter. I was surprised to learn that it was signed before Germany surrendered World War II. Years later I would go visit the U.N. in New York and write about it for this blog.

Truman’s most controversial decision would take place very early in his tenure: the one to drop the atomic bomb on Japan. It ushered in a new era of atomic power and raised the stakes in terms of the weapons of war. It clearly was not a decision made lightly.

Many would be against the move, including future president Dwight Eisenhower, quoted here:

"During his recitation of the relevant facts, I had been conscious of a feeling of depression and so I voiced to him my grave misgivings, first on the basis of my belief that Japan was already defeated and that dropping the bomb was completely unnecessary, and secondly because I thought that our country should avoid shocking world opinion by the use of a weapon whose employment was, I thought, no longer mandatory as a measure to save American lives. It was my belief that Japan was, at that very moment, seeking some way to surrender with a minimum loss of 'face'. The Secretary was deeply perturbed by my attitude..."

One of the most compelling exhibits, however, is a display of American propaganda against the Japanese.

Some of the posters reminded me of similar work I saw in a museum in El Paso, TX.

Others seemed very similar to things I might see today.

Additional images were so racist that they would not be tolerated today. Hopefully.

Interestingly enough, there exists no document that explicitly shows that Truman approved the use of an atomic bomb. The only thing that comes close is this hand written note that approves a public statement being made about the issue.

Truman’s post-war challenges were great. History books seem to skip from one major date to another, and due to this I’ve never heard of how hard the immediate post-war months were on Americans. The time brought with it high inflation, a slow de-deployment, and a struggle for the roles of women at home. Women, who had been working in factories doing the work normally done by men, were now told to become homemakers again. It must have been a very difficult transition, one that likely led to the women’s movement a generation later.

Tensions built up so badly against Truman that he had a Bill Clinton-like midterm election loss in 1946 where the Republican party took control of congress for the first time since 1928. The GOP slogan was simply “had enough?”

Things would get “better” in 1947 in a way that would transform the United States population in many ways that affect us today. It was this time period that Americans started to become consumers and suburbanites. Economic growth and prosperity grew at a pace not seen in at least 20 years. Things like televisions and air conditioners would become commonplace, much to the dismay of environmentalists today.

While things were going great in the United States, Europe was a disaster. War-torn Europe's economic underpinnings were almost totally demolished and rough weather conditions made things worse for the population. In 1947, tensions between the U.S./U.K. and its former ally the Soviet Union were growing.

The Soviets wanted to prevent Germany from rising again a third time and began making moves to dominate Eastern Europe. The West resisted these moves, and the Cold War began to take shape. The Soviet Union began installing Communist governments in its occupied territory, ignoring pleas from the Western world that elections take place.

Economic conditions in Europe changed the balance of power in the area. The once dominant British Empire was near bankruptcy, and it began releasing itself from its imperial entanglements. One of the first moves in this area was announcing it would no longer provide financial assistance to Greece and Turkey, both of whom were facing pressure from Communist influences.

President Truman decided to step in and his speech to congress was declared in history books as The Truman Doctrine and possibly the official start of the Cold War.

Truman boldly claimed:

I believe that it must be the policy of the United States to support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures.

I believe that we must assist free peoples to work out their own destinies in their own way.

I believe that our help should be primarily through economic and financial aid which is essential to economic stability and orderly political processes.

The Cold War was on. I would be born into this conflict and my worldview shaped by it. If not for this time, I never would have fallen in love with the movie Red Dawn. Nor would I think that Ronald Reagan was the greatest President of my lifetime (go ahead, flame away you Commie sympathizers).

The U.S. government would enact this doctrine through the Marshall Plan, named after then Secretary of State George C. Marshall. The plan:

The United States offered up to $20 billion for relief, but only if the European nations could get together and draw up a rational plan on how they would use the aid. For the first time, they would have to act as a single economic unit; they would have to cooperate with each other. Marshall also offered aid to the Soviet Union and its allies in eastern Europe, but Stalin denounced the program as a trick and refused to participate. The Russian rejection probably made passage of the measure through Congress possible.

In a brief matter of time, the conflict between the West and the East began to escalate. The Soviets would blockade Berlin, and the West would respond with airlifts. The West created a military alliance called NATO to defend itself against a possible Soviet attack. Things were not developing nicely. The conflict established in this time period would go on until the 1990s. Interestingly enough, while NATO did get itself involved in conflicts (most notably Bill Cinton's decision to use the group to favor Muslims over Orthodox Christians in Bosnia and bomb them) treaty would only be used once in it's original context -- September 11 -- when the U.S. was attacked by Muslim terrorists.

Then, if that wasn’t enough of a legacy for Truman, he decided to recognize Israel as a country, giving crazy Muslims an excuse to hate us and try to blow us up ever since. The museum is surprisingly frank about the decision, showing that a number of Truman’s advisors were against the movie. According to the museum, Truman appeared to do it for two reasons: he had sympathy for the Jews who had just been slaughtered in the Holocaust and he needed the Jewish vote for re-election.

Truman wasn’t done. Nope. Not yet. He even tried to get some equality for black people in America. Bad idea. For him at least. He fractured the Democratic party in three (the liberals were mad at his hard line against the Soviets, the Southerners were mad at him over civil rights, and a third faction actually liked the guy).

The split let to a candidacy of Strom Thurmond with the “States Rights Democratic Party,” one of the few third parties in American history to get electoral votes. Thurmond was banking on getting enough black votes to offset the white Southern vote.

He just barely made it. In an improbable victory -- one which even the newspapers of the day could not predict -- Truman won re-election. The nation was lucky that Dewey wasn't like Al Gore and challenged the election due to the media declaring that he'd won, but that's a story for another museum.

Truman was triumphant. There was little time to celebrate however, as things were about to get worse for the president and the country. In the Fall of 1949, the Soviets exploded their first atomic bomb and China declared itself as a Communist country.

America braced itself for the worst.

Republican Senator Joseph McCarthy (who is from Appleton, WI) began his quest to find Communists in the State department, sending a telegram to the president advising him of his coming actions. McCarthy was right about at least one State Department spy, Alger Hiss, who was convicted of perjury and later proven to be working for the Soviets. The Hiss case launched the political career of future president Richard Nixon, and angered some of the very same people who would chase him out of town in the late 1970s.

The arms race would intensify at Truman's lead. He authorized research to create a hydrogen bomb, one that was much more powerful than a simple atomic weapon.

Later on, he was presented with NSC-68, a top secret recommendation that encouraged the U.S. to dramatically increase its defense spending.

Truman resisted at first, the the Korean War -- another challenge faced by the President -- would change his mind.

The war would cause conflict between the president and his top general, Douglas Macarthur. Macarthur wanted to bomb China in order to save Korea, but the president did not want another world war. When the general publically criticized his decision, President Truman fired him. The Korean War would end in a stalemate that still persists today.

Truman would leave office with only a 30 percent approval rating. Only years later, with history as a cover, is he appreciated with greater enthusiasm.

He and his wife are buried on the library grounds.

An eternal flame honors his service.

Now that I know what he had to face -- for better or for worse -- I have to honor him as well.

RELATED LINKS:
Thinking through the bombing of Japan

Extreme Indoor Football in Bloomington, IL

noreply@blogger.com (Nominal Me) — Sat, 10 Jun 2006 19:08:00 +0000

Believe it or not, the Arena Football League, which is the minor leagues of the minor leagues of American Football, seems to have minor leagues of its own. Here, at U.S.Cellular Coliseum, I saw an "indoor football game".

There, the Bloomington Extreme play as part of the United Indoor Football League.

Bloomington's season is not going well, and the 7,000 arena was just a little over half full.

Indoor football is different from the NFL game in many ways. Many players have offensive and defensive responsibilities, and there are no punters. If you do not get a first down after three tries, you try a field goal regardless of where you are (if you do not go for it).

The short field, 50 yards, make for high scoring and entertaining affairs.

With the arena being small, there are no bad views of the action.

They have cheerleaders and these ladies are definitely the hottest girls in Bloomington, IL.

The away team, the Ohio Valley Greyhounds, built up a small lead throughout the game. The Extreme was forced to play from behind most of the time.

When Greyhounds kicker John Wehrle kicked an extra point, the true form of indoor arena fans came out...

...here is a father of a young boy fighting with a woman in the stands for the souvenir football. She won. He may have had a weight and height advantage, but she was drunk.

Extreme kicker #3 Peter Christofilakos made some good plays, but it wasn't enough. #5, quarterback Dusty Burk did not impress me much, as he tried to be a poor man's Michael Vick (without the speed and arm strength), making poor decisions to run.

Greyhounds quarterback Matt Kohn had a good day, including a 43 touchdown pass (the whole field basically) to Willie Austin.

Whenever the Extreme would begin to catch up, the Greyhounds would answer immediately. Here is #1 Willie Austin after catching a fourth quarter touchdown.

Austin is the all time leading reception leader in Greyhound history, and he must have felt like Kevin Costner's character did in Bull Durham when he set that record.

With 16 seconds left, the home team Extreme was behind 43-37, but they had the ball. They couldn't do anything with it, and the Greyhounds would take a bus home to West Virginia with a victory.

The fans would go home sad, not quite sure what to do.

I had a great time. This was a piece of Americana. Small time football played by local guys most likely for the love of the game. I'm not sure I'm ready to watch the AFL on TV, but this was a fun time.

Winning Big at a Casino!

noreply@blogger.com (Nominal Me) — Fri, 09 Jun 2006 00:00:00 +0000

On a whim, I went to the Par-A-Dice Hotel & Casino, located in East Peoria, IL. The casino entrance was across the street from my hotel, so I felt it a matter of fate to try it. Gambling is not my thing, but I decided to try it out anyway as a cultural experiment.

The casino was located near a swamp and a bunch of power lines. Not prime real estate.

As far as I can tell, land-based casinos are illegal in Illinois (unless you are on an Indian reservation, where the state has limited jurisdiction) , but they are allowed on riverboats. I have noticed that in many communities throughout the Midwest, riverboat gambling is pretty big. Iowa started the trend in 1989:

Currently six states—Iowa, Illinois, Mississippi, Louisiana, Indiana, and Missouri—allow gaming parlors and casinos on riverboats. Most operate on the Mississippi, Ohio, and Missouri Rivers. The first state to reintroduce this type of gambling facility was Iowa in 1989, when legislators passed a law permitting riverboat casinos under certain circumstances. According to this measure, gambling in Iowa may occur only on historic or modern riverboats, making cruises on the Mississippi River lasting a specified period of time (usually an hour and a half). Slot machines and table games are allowed.

To enter, I walked over what appeared to be a permanent bridge free of charge. It seems that my experience may not have been entirely legal:

In Illinois, the second state to authorize riverboat gambling, casino patrons may also board riverboats making regularly scheduled runs; however, they must wait until the boats are fully underway before engaging in gambling activities. Games allowed include blackjack, craps, roulette, and big six. Slot machines and video poker also are permitted. Illinois riverboat casinos, all of which must charge a boarding fee to their customers, have the potential to be very plentiful, as they may cruise on any number of major rivers, including the Mississippi, Des Plaines, Ohio, and Illinois.

While not everyone I met in the area was happy about the casino due to moral reasons, there are some economic benefits:

Already more than 10,000 new jobs have been created in Illinois through the legalization of gambling on riverboats, with an estimated yearly payroll in excess of $250 million.

I gave myself a $20 budget. I know. I'm a big spender. I was going to play dice or roulette, but I was taken back by the speed of the games. It seemed that each bet was placed in less than a minute's time, with a five dollar minimum.

This could have turned out to be a four minute night for me if I played those games. I tried to follow the rules of the dice throwing thing, but the game was moving way too fast for my taste.

So I went to the machines.

I won on my second roll at the 25 cent machine.

After playing three whole dollars, I decided to cash in.

I quadrupled my investment! Maybe gambling is a good thing. Perhaps I should quit my job and do it full time.

It was a fun time, but it's always better to quit while you're ahead.

Baseball in Davenport, IA

noreply@blogger.com (Nominal Me) — Wed, 07 Jun 2006 02:17:00 +0000

Today I attended a baseball game in Davenport, IA.

Since the team changes its name often, based on its team affiliation, its official name appears to be the Midwest League Franchise in Davenport, IA.

Right now the team is called the "Swing of the Quad Cities" and is affiliated with the team with the dumbest name in sports, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

The team has a lackluster history, with few star players in its history. In a history spanning around 45 years, 200 players have made it to the major leagues.

The team plays in the recently renovated John O'Donnell Stadium, which is a great place to see a ballgame. All of the seats seem good and it is a family-friendly atmosphere.

People get really into the game.

It's right by a bridge.

The game was tied -- dreadfully scoreless -- at the end of the ninth and it went into extra innings.

The Quad Cities would win in the 12th inning. Casey Rowlett hit his first home run of the year and the Swingers would win 2-0 against a hapless Cedar Rapids Kernals team. Game notes may be found here.

RELATED LINKS:

History of the Cedar Rapids Cardinals

Wikipedia on the Midwest League

Midwest League Homepage

Davenport, IA

noreply@blogger.com (Nominal Me) — Mon, 05 Jun 2006 02:16:00 +0000

After leaving Chicago, I arrived in Davenport, IA, one of the Quad Cities. The term "Quad Cities" is a misnomer, as the metropolitan area includes five cities in Iowa and Illinois (Davenport, IA, Bettendorf, IA, Rock Island, IL, East Moline, IL, and Moline, IL). It is a vibrant community with shops, restaurants, and entertainment and many described it as a "great place to raise a family".

I was here for the Davenport Air Show, which I will write about in my next post.

Davenport, IA is the home of the Machine Shed, a fantastic farmer's restaurant.

Outside, there are tractors that kids can play with.

Here's me pimpin my ride!

They offer hay rides as well.

Inside, the decor is one of a family farm store. The portions are big and the food is great.

Davenport boasted some of the most beautiful sundowns I've ever seen. It was a nice place with extremely friendly people. If you're driving through the area, I strongly suggest you stop by for a visit.

Photo Essay: the Quad City Air Show

noreply@blogger.com (Nominal Me) — Mon, 05 Jun 2006 02:16:00 +0000

For two days, I attended the Quad City Air Show at the Davenport Iowa Airport. Here are photos of the event featuring various aircraft and other military devices.

The Iowa National Guard flew helicopters over the air show.

Its 194th Infantry Detachment (Long Range Surveillance) (Airborne) had soldiers parachute from its CH-47 Chinook/Improved Cargo Helicopter (CH-47F).

A KC-135 did a flyby. It was faster than I was able to take a clear picture of. The Air Force uses planes like this primarily for refueling.

In addition to watching planes in the air, you can get up close to them on the ground.

It's not just airplanes. Tanks and other military devices are on display as well.

Climbing on top of them was a lot of fun.

The 20th Century Tactical Studies Group was on hand to remind us how people in the previous century fought wars.

Some of them were more humorous than others. This guy, dressed in Soviet garb and surrounded by World War I and World War II weapons, was not amused when a screamed in mock panic "oh no the Russians are coming!" I reminded him what Red Dawn taught me and he drying responded "maybe you should try to learn something." Man am I glad we won the Cold War.

Landmines are safely on display. It is estimated that 45 to 50 landmines are currently in the ground in one-third of the World's nations. They maim or kill 15,000 to 20,000 people every year. You can adopt a landmine by visiting here.

Other mid-20th century devices are available to look and feel.

Like this mortar.

President George H.W. Bush, then a Lt. (J.G.) flew a TBF Avenger like this one on combat missions in World War II.

This is a H-60 Black Hawk helicopter, a familiar aircraft to people who do not follow these things due to the movie and book Black Hawk Down, which featured American soldiers shot down in Somalia.

Looking at the seats and the interior of the helicopter, it's not difficult to see why soldiers might be hit by crossfire while flying in it.

Here is a Bell AH-1 Super Cobra. If that is the case, these types of war machines have been used in conflicts ranging from Vietnam in the past to Iraq today.

Not every vehicle on display is a killing machine. This one moves dirt.

Here is a F/A-18F Super Hornet, designed to work from aircraft carriers in all kinds of weather. If you really like this plane you should check out this website.

While there were many vehicles and aircraft on display in a static fashion, it was an active show with visitors getting a chance to see many of them in action. One interesting display was one of the World's Fastest Trucks, according to the Guinness Book of World Records. It goes 376 M.P.H. for very short time periods.

It needs a parachute to slow it down.

There are activities for all to participate in. Some things at the air show are more aero-dynamic than others.

Airplanes from various eras took flight.

Some of them flew at very low heights.

Air shows can be very patriotic affairs.

Some of the tricks are very impressive.

Red Bull pilot Kirby Chambliss impressed me with his sideways flying at low altitudes.

Nothing beats the famous Navy Blue Angels however. Since 1946, they have performed in front of more than 393 million fans.

The group flew in various formations, some close together and some far away.

As you can see, there is very little room for error when flying like this.

It is impossible to describe how fast these planes were going, other than saying it was faster than the speed of sound. If your eyes looked at where the sound burst told you to look, you would have missed them. It was very impressive.

One of the cooler moments of the show came after it officially ended. Some attendees stayed on and watched the pilots prepare their planes and fly away. Look, Iowa allows women pilots!

This CH-47 Chinook/Improved Cargo Helicopter (CH-47F) took quite some time to get ready to fly.

It is used to transport people and cargo where ever it's needed. Prior to it flying away, visitors were allowed to walk through the aircraft and sit in it. Let me assure you that it's not a comfortable flight. The seats are very hard and I'm sure the ride is pretty bumpy.

This seemingly lumbering vehicle hit the air so quickly that it was difficult for me to get a clear picture of it. About a football field away, you could still feel a massive amount of heat hit your face as it powered off and flew away. It was fascinating to watch.

The air show was a fabulous time. If you have one in your area, I suggest you check it out.

RELATED LINKS:
Photos of the Chicago Air Show in 2005

Photo Essay: The Chicago's Skyline

noreply@blogger.com (Nominal Me) — Thu, 01 Jun 2006 02:14:00 +0000

This is my final post on Chicago. Included here will be places that did not warrant its own blog article, but were good enough to remember. I hope you enjoy it, and make a point of visiting the Second City when you get a chance.

From the view of the Shedd Aquarium you can see the Sears Tower.

I'm not sure what this building is, but it's interesting. I also love the cloud formation around it.

There's the Sears Tower again.

This is a view right by the train station.

There I am in front of the Sears Tower. You'll notice I'm wearing my Jesus fish shirt. This was the day I went to the Field Museum. No one commented on the irony. Oh well. Perhaps I'm too witty for my own good.

On the way to the Shedd Aquarium, coming from the El station, you get this interesting view.

From right by the Shedd Aquarium, you get a brilliant view of the Chicago Skyline.

Also walking to the Shedd Aquarium, you go over railroad tracks that are still in use.

Well, that's it for Chicago. Over 25 posts on the city, and well worth it. I hope you enjoyed them all, and will visit the city any chance you get.

Eating Well and Seeing Much in Chicago

noreply@blogger.com (Nominal Me) — Thu, 01 Jun 2006 02:13:00 +0000

One of the sacrifices of my current job, as exciting as it may be, is that I have very few walking opportunities. There just aren't many places like New York where one can walk around and explore. Chicago is one of those rare places.

Below are random photos and experiences that were fun, but did not necessarily demand its own blog post.

I saw the "Iraqtile Dysfunction" show at the Second City Mainstage on North Wells Street at North Avenue. This comedy troupe has been known to send its alumni to fame on Saturday Night Live.

While the show is good, the free improv after it is even better. Audience members are asked to yell out people, places, and things, and the performers come up with skits to fit in the material. Some of it is great and is an excellent demonstration of their talents.

It's also in a very cool building.

It draws a good crowd, so buying tickets ahead of time is suggested.

Great food was in demand while in Chicago, and I was looking for things off the beaten path. Timo, with a menu created by John Bubala, proved to be a great place for a seafood dish. Located on Halsted Street and Grand Avenue, the once French restaurant was recently converted into a fancy Italian place. Good! I hate the French!

This guy would like FBI agent Chris Saviano to stop raping his wife. This guy seems to have been out there for a while, and no one seems to know why he is standing there. Previous attempts to clarify his concerns have not been successful.

Well, all of the crazy people can't live in New York.

It was brought to my attention by Big Uke that Miller's Pub in Chicago was a good place to get ribs.

It has a nice pub-like atmosphere with a lot of energy.

The ribs were good. I ate them all. Yum!

One of the best "I don't know what I'm eating" moments happened in a Lebanese restaurant called Maza, located on North Lincoln avenue and Diversey Parkway.

I had the seafood special of the day, which included couscous. Prior to it I had some sort of Middle Eastern appetizer that I could not describe but it was amazing.

Chicago was good for my mind, body, and belly. I'll miss it.

Transportation in Chicago

noreply@blogger.com (Nominal Me) — Thu, 01 Jun 2006 02:07:00 +0000

One of the things that make Chicago truly special is its transportation system, which is up there with cities like New York and Washington, D.C. If you live in the right part of the city, or its suburbs, you do not need to own a car. If other cities had transportation systems of this quality, global warming may not be such a big issue.

One main component of it is the Metra Railroad system, which connect Chicago's suburbs to the city.

They have double-decker trains that are interesting to travel in. Well, interesting to me, because I don't have to do it every day.

But what makes Chicago Chicago is its subway system, called the El, part of the city's public transit system.

There is an outdoor loop in the downtown area that is very convenient.

Unlike New York City's system, this one designates colors for their lines. This can get somewhat confusing, as some of the color pallets are worn out. Nevertheless, it's still a good system and even a tourist like myself can get around easily.

The platforms are made of steel, concrete, and wood.

The turnstiles seem to be made by the same company that produces New York City's.

The people look the same too. They learn how to stare blankly, as if no one else was around them.

Being a New Yorker, I was pleased to have the chance to avoid using a car for a while. Because of their public transportation system, I could easily live there if work demanded it.

Evolving Planet at the Field Museum (Part III)

noreply@blogger.com (Nominal Me) — Wed, 31 May 2006 18:00:00 +0000

This is the third part of my coverage of the "Evolving Planet" exhibit at the Field Museum in Chicago. You may find other posts about this fantastic museum on this blog. I have written about the general exhibits, the Underground Adventure, and the King Tut exhibit. You may find part one of this exhibit here.

At this point in the exhibit, 50% of life on Earth has been wiped away, including all the dinosaurs that were not birds.

With them out of the way, 65 million years ago, it was the end of the Cretaceous period and the start of the age of the mammals. Us. The good guys (we think). Our world as we know it began to take shape. The Tertiary period (65-1.8 million years ago) was in full swing.

Plant and animal life (specifically mammals) that is familiar to us started to flourish.

Fossils of some familiarity began to be found.

This Sycamore leaf is dated 54.8-33.7 million years ago and was found in Wyoming.

This fantastic fossil is a pregnant stingray with its embryo and herrings, dated 54.8-33.7 million years ago. This was also found in Wyoming.

This soft-shelled turtle with fishes and love bugs inside is also dated 54.8-33.7 million years ago and found in Wyoming. It is a wonderful fossil because it not only shows the larger animal, but smaller ones as well.

This Herring-like fish (Diplomystus dentatus) is dated 54-8-33.7 million years ago and found in Wyoming (it's possible there are more fossils found there than people).
Around 45 million years ago, moving continents (again!) caused the Earth's climate to begin shifting from warm and wet to cooler and drier (damn that global cooling!). This of course affected evolution of plant and animal life.

Grasslands spread, which benefited hoofed mammals.

Three million years ago, a land bridge formed between North and South America, connecting species for the first time in millions of years. This would particularly affect mammal life.

It's the beginning of us too. The human, or hominid, story. A sign reads:

The hominid story is still being written. There are gaps in the fossil record, and many fossils are fragmentary. But each new discovery brings us closer to a clear picture of human evolution.

Though this emerging picture can be controversial scientists agree on two key points: humans evolved from an ape ancestor, and they evolved through the same unpredictable process as every other living thing.

This is random natural selection, I presume. No God here. Even if we can't prove it. How this is science and not theology when it is based on an "agreement" I am not sure. It seems to me to be a very blurry line.

This is Lucy, one of the museum's famous artifacts. It is one of the earliest hominids. He or she was found in eastern Africa and is dated at 3.2 million years ago. Lucy belong to the Australopithecines that lived around four million to one million years ago.

She is said to be a good girl, crazy about Elvis, loves horses, and her boyfriend too.

OK, I made that last part up.

Guys and girls like Lucy have been a focal point of the Creationism versus Evolution debate in the last Century.

This is a cast of "Turkana Boy," who lived and died near Lake Turkana in Kenya, Africa 1.6 million years ago. Wikipedia notes:

There are several features which seem awkward in comparison to modern humans. The pelvic structure is narrower than in modern Homo sapiens, meaning that Homo ergaster and Homo erectus in both Africa and Asia had a greater ability to run. Their running techniques may have been equivalent to a modern day race track athlete. This hints that the species lived a harsh and demanding lifestyle; most importantly they must have been accomplished hunters rather than scavengers such as Homo habilis. Radical changes are believed to have taken place during the transformation between the australopithecines and Homo species. Because of Homo ergaster's greater height and limb proportions which are more similar to Homo sapiens than to the ape-like australopithecines, a combination of height and likely absence of fur would have been a necessity.

He is described in the museum as an "early human," dated 1.8 million to 10,000 years ago. A nearby sign says:

"Our own species, Homo sapiens," first evolved around 195,000 years ago in Africa.

Today, we are the only hominid species. But that has not always been true. Until quite recently, we shared the earth with at least two other hominid species.

The last of these species only died out around 30,000 years ago: Homo neanderthalensis, better known as the Neanderthals."

The Neanderthals were last seen in Geico commercials.

Here is another cast of the "Neanderthal human," dated 1.8 million to 10,000 years ago. Heavier bones, broader shoulders, wider ribs, short limbs, and stocky bodies may have helped them retain heat in colder climates.

This is a cast of a modern human dated 10,000 years ago to the present. We have a flatter face and a taller forehead. We have a protruding, rather than a flat nose. We have a pointy, rather than receding chins.

We have Nicole Kidman. Cavemen do not. That is why we live and they do not.

Here are the two side by side. I'll take Nicole Kidman on the right any day.

At this point, the Earth was going through its Quaternary Period (1.8 million years ago to today), which is an ice age. Yes, we live in an ice age right now that peaked 18,000 years ago. This is why Canadians still watch hockey.

It is divided into smaller chunks of time. One significant one is the Pleistocene epoch, which is dated at 1.8 million to 10,000 years ago. According to this Berkeley Website that I have relied on greatly, much of the world's temperate zones were alternately covered by glaciers during cool periods and uncovered during the warmer interglacial periods when the glaciers retreated.

Our early time period brought with it some pretty interesting animals, like this giant ground sloth, dated 1.8 million to 10,000 years ago.

Here's the Glyptodont, which lived 1.8 million to 10,000 years ago.

Here is the "short faced" bear, Arctodus Simus. It's dated at 1.8 million to 10,000 years ago and is found in Indiana. It had a good lay-up.

Irish deer, some of the largest ones of all time, lived across Europe, Asia and even Northern Africa before they started dying out around 8,000 years ago. I blame the British for all of the troubles in Ireland.

Here's the Woolly mammoth, dated 1.8 million-10,000 years ago. Much is known about them due to frozen carcasses found in Siberia.

The Mastodons were the mammoths' leaf-eating cousins and went extinct about 10,000 years ago.

This all leads us to today...

...otherwise known as Mass Extinction #6. Scientists estimate that we have lost 30,000 species in the last year. It's possible that many more that we do not even know exist are also dying.

Why? Us. Humans. We suck. A sign reads: "For the first time in Earth's history, a single species is the primary cause of a mass extinction." This is a somewhat hyperbolic statement, since we do not know what caused extinctions in the past, but it is not to say that we as a species are not wiping away life on the planet as we know it.

Near the museum's closing time of 5PM, 37 species have been wiped away since 8AM that morning. They were probably all run over by SUV's and personally assassinated by Dick Cheney during a hunting trip. I really don't want to make too much light of the matter, as the museum points out that the normal rate of extinction is one species every four years. Right now species are dying out at a rate of 30,000 per year. 82 species every day. Four species every hour.

At least according to our very incomplete estimates. It is here that we stray away from saying what we know and speculating about things we have very little data on. We really don't have a clue how many species existed in the past, and at what rate they died. We are lucky to find them at all in fossils, which is a rare phenomenon that happens in very specific circumstances. When I see a statement like this, I recoil slightly, as it makes me question the entire presentation. It is a supposition. The numbers of species dying are shocking enough, the speculative comparisons seems out of place.

Nevertheless, the "Evolving Planet" exhibit is a powerful exhibit. It shows many life forms over time. It shows their similarities. It is not a "smoking gun," however. It does show sufficient proof that life forms over time are connected in real ways. It does not prove that these connections were random acts, and that no Intelligent Designer was involved. It of course does not provide any proof that an Intelligent Designer exists either. Intelligent people, we hope, may come up with their own conclusions.

Perhaps scientific museums will more properly separate facts from supposition, so that broad generalizations of facts will not be presented more like theology than fact-finding science.

Here's a quote from Charles Darwin that says "...from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been, and are being, evolved."

Maybe not.

Well, so much for separation of church and state...at least when it comes to the theology of naturalism. Nevertheless, this is the perspective of most scientists and certainly the Field Museum. It is a fantastic, compelling, and convincing argument. I do not believe that Creationists or proponents of Intelligent Design have anything close to it in terms of scope and evidence.

I defy them to present one if they have it.

I strongly suggest everyone near Chicago go to the Field Museum and check this out. If you have strong religious beliefs, or you are very much an atheist, does not matter. This was one of the most interesting exhibits I have ever seen, and it is well worth your time to expose yourself to it.

It is, after all, the history of us.

RELATED LINKS:
A critical view of the Evolving Planet exhibit from Answers in Genesis.

The Creationist argument against Carbon Dating.

Dinosaurs and the Bible.

Evolving Planet at the Field Museum (Part II)

noreply@blogger.com (Nominal Me) — Wed, 31 May 2006 17:59:00 +0000

Welcome to part two of my three part series on the "Evolving Planet" exhibit at the Field Museum. It is part of a series that includes my thoughts on some of the general exhibits, the Underground Adventure, the King Tut exhibit, and part one of the Evolving Planet. The final entry on the Evolving Planet will come tomorrow.

This entry is about the truly impressive and fun part of the exhibit: the Mesozoic Era (248 to 65 Million Years Ago). This time period is also known as the "Age of the Dinosaurs". There was a new kind of species in town. It was the dawn of a true new era.

Before you go on, please note that these photos -- taken with a Treo 650 -- do not do the exhibit justice. My digital camera had run out of memory space, so I relied on my phone. The only way you can truly experience the power of this exhibit is to see it for yourself.

Be warned...

Cynodont fossils from this time period (248 to 206 million years ago in the Triassic Period) have been found. They had a new kind of teeth: canines and incisors, for biting and tearing. They also had back teeth for grinding or slicing. It was kind of free thinking that allow me to eat steaks millions of years later. It was an important part of animal and mammal development. Teeth remains are a big part of this section of the exhibit, as subtle differences are detected among different fossils.

This appears to be the remains of a Triassic Period reptile.

This is a cross-section of a conifer trunk. Scientists can surmise much about the past from the details left in trees, including things like its age and weather climate. The NASA Website has an explanation for this: in "a tree the cambium, the cells that will become wood or bark, grows in a light layer during late spring/early summer changing to a dark layer in later summer/early fall." Each ring, therefore, represents one year. It continues:

These annual rings can be counted to tell the age of the tree, and because there is more growth under good conditions, the growth patterns can be studied to determine the conditions a tree lived through such as forest fires, drought, insect attack, floods, or slopes. The study of tree rings and climate is called dendroclimatology.

This one (the photo above) is dated at 248-206 million years ago, or the Triassic Period.

A sign says "please touch." Here, you can get in close contact with our past. It's part of the reason why this room of the museum is a lot of fun to be in.

Teeth are exciting, but before things could really get going for dinosaurs a lot of other things had to die first.This leads us to Mass Extinction #4.

It is believed that shifting continents (yes, they move, remember?) and volcanic activity (leading to global warming that Al Gore would be screaming about) killed off a lot of plant life that could not deal with warmer weather. At the same time, lower sea levels killed off a lot of marine life.

The time was ripe for the real Jurassic Park to take place.

70 million years ago is the likely home time for Sue, the dinosaur located in the main entrance of the Field Museum. This is the time period that many people think about when they speak about historical geology.

This is an example of a Ceratopsian, or "horn faced" animal. It is one of many dinosaur bones that fill a large room in the museum. It is a breathtaking display and the people of Chicago are lucky to have it.

This Daspletosaurus may have been an ancestor to Tyrannosaurus, one of the more famous dinosaurs. It is a theropod, or "beast-footed" dinosaur. These bones are organized in a logical way and information about them is provided with each fossil. It was amazing work done by the Field Museum staff.

The Apatosaurus is a sauropod ("lizard hipped") dinosaur and may have weighed 33 tons. In the lower right section of the photo, in-between the dinosaur's back legs, you can see a person looking at the fossil. From there you get a sense of how big these bones are. It's a very impressive sight.

Outside of the Carnegie Museum in Pittsburgh sits a statue of one of them. As you may recall I visited there last October and they had an impressive collection of dinosaur fossils as well. While that museum did a great job showing the bones, the Field Museum uses them to tell a larger story about the theory of evolution.

The UC Berkeley Website that I've relied on quite a bit for these posts brings up an interesting point about Jurassic Park the movie versus the time period:

Today, the name "Jurassic" conjures up images of the phenomenally successful book and movie, "Jurassic Park". It is quite true that the dinosaurs dominated the land fauna -- although many of the dinosaurs featured in "Jurassic Park", such as Triceratops and Tyrannosaurus rex, did not evolve until after the Jurassic was over. The largest dinosaurs of the time -- in fact, the largest land animals of all time -- were the gigantic sauropods, such as the famous Diplodocus (pictured at lower left), Brachiosaurus and Apatosaurus. Other herbivorous dinosaurs of the Jurassic included the plated stegosaurs. Predatory dinosaurs of the Jurassic included fearsome carnosaurs such as Allosaurus, small, fast coelurosaurs, and ceratosaurs such as Dilophosaurus. The Jurassic also saw the origination of the first birds, including the well-known Archaeopteryx, probably from coelurosaurian ancestors.

The Mesozoic Period (251-65 million years ago) brings evidence of impressive varieties of sea life.

While dinosaurs are more popular, the museum shows their impressive collection of this time period's fossils. At this point, I was overwhelmed by what I was seeing.

This Ammonoid Mollusk is an example of the beautiful creatures that lived on Earth millions of years ago. They are also considered to be very good time index fossils. It is believed that the first Greek discus, perhaps used in the Olympics, was an ammonite fossil.

All good things must come to an end. All dinosaurs that were not birds would die in a fairly short period of time (geologically). Called the Cretaceous-Tertiary extinction, it is a source of some controversy as to why Mass Extinction #5 happened. It could have been an asteroid or comet. It could have been a supernova. Perhaps volcanic activity?

As for me, the answer is clear. Jell-O killed the dinosaurs.

We do know this (well, about as well as any scientist today can know): 50% of all life on Earth was wiped away, paving the way for beings like us to take over the Earth.

That's good for us too. I don't think we would have been able to handle the dinosaurs.

In part three of three, my next post on the Evolving Planet, I'll talk about us.

RELATED LINKS:
Henri D. Grissino-Mayer's Dendrochronology (Tree Ring) Website

PBS: What Killed the Dinosaurs?

What Killed the Dinosaurs? A paper on the subject.

Evolving Planet at the Field Museum (Part I)

noreply@blogger.com (Nominal Me) — Wed, 31 May 2006 17:58:00 +0000

There is more to do at Chicago's Field Museum than one could properly do in a day. There's also more to write about than you'd find in one blog article. I've talked about the regular exhibits there, the Underground Adventure, and the Tut exhibit. Now I'm going to talk about something that I wish I spent more time in. It's pretty much the history of our planet. Like all history, it's in dispute. However, since I'm writing about this exhibit, I'm going to write about the views presented in it almost exclusively.

One of the more compelling arguments for the theology of naturalism (what I call the belief that there is no God and all that we are is the result of random occurrence, or the belief that God had no place in our development) comes in the form of the Field Museum's "Evolving Planet" exhibit. It shows how our home planet evolved over four billion years, from the emergence of single-celled organisms to the time of the dinosaurs, and finally human beings. It expands their already impressive dinosaur exhibit as well. It clearly uses dinosaurs, a very popular part of the museum, as an entree to promote the idea of evolution as scientists understand it today.

Right off the bat, there's a sign that explains what a theory is in scientific terms. You will see these signs in many science related museums, due to the fact that proponents of intelligent design (and other beliefs) are accused of using the phrase "it's only a theory" to discount evolutionary claims. Scientists are very sensitive about this.

Like any heated argument, the two sides are not really speaking to each other in an honest dialogue. Those promoting a philosophy stating that life developed randomly through natural selection alone attempt to paint proponents of Intelligent Design as "creationists," which is an entirely different viewpoint of how we got here. That view is based on a literal interpretation of the creation story in the first book of the Jewish and Christian Bible. People who believe this are rarely in the discussion because no one pays attention to them.

Unfortunately, in the May 2006 issue of Discover magazine, the Field Museum CEO John McCarter engages in this practice. He is quoted there saying:

"I think that five years from now, creationism as a theology will still be powerful, but this intelligent design tactic, which is supported by a very small group of people, will be history."

To be fair, McCarter does put science in its proper context, even though it appears many scientists do not:

"Where we get in trouble as a society is when people of one persuasion or one capability jump into another field -- when theologians come into science and attempt to reinterpret scientific records through supernatural intervention, and alternatively, when scientist go into theology and say 'There is no God." It is really not the business of either. There should be a common dialogue, a middle ground where people can discuss issues like this as matters of philosophy as well as matters of theology and matters of science."

Unfortunately, it's clear that his museum is not that kind of place. I'm not sure where that place is.

The Intelligent Design folks seem to want to paint the natural selection folks as lacking objectivity, and some of them feel that there is a conspiracy against their ideas. They want their ideas presented on equal terms in schools and in other places. It's a long story as to why that's not likely to happen, and some of it includes scientific consensus, the definition of science, politics and that God has a habit of being hard to define in numbers.

My thought on this before I go on to the fun stuff of talking about an exhibit? I cannot argue with facts. If one animal in one time is related to the other, and our best evidence supports it, I see no reason to doubt that based on my beliefs, which are decidedly Christian. If natural selection is right, and at the moment we just don't have enough evidence to definitively say it is, then it is the structure God put forth to make us today.

However, my Christian beliefs do not force me to believe that natural selection is implausible. In other words, I see no conflict between science and faith. They are two sides of the same coin: they are ways in which we as humans seek to find the truth of our world, universe, and existence. It's why I've always lumped the two together in my blog. If fossils are similar to each other and DNA matches up, or whatever evidence is presented, or whatever facts proven, then they should not be ignored.

There will be blanks to fill in, and honest, intelligent people may fill those blanks differently. When we do, however, we should do our best not to demagogue the other.

Now that I've got that out of the way, check this fantastic exhibit out...

The presentation is divided into eras like this one, four billion years ago. Right off the bat, we learn that the building blocks of life may have come from extraterrestrial sources 500 million years ago. Scientists who have studied specimens of this type have found organic material on them.

So there you go, we're all descendents of immigrants.

Conversely, organic compounds may have formed on Earth, a sign says, perhaps in hydrothermal vents deep on the ocean floor.

I hate to say it, but it's just a theory. This rock is an example of a rock with hydrothermal vents. Consider it our first studio apartment.

3.5 billion years ago, tiny single-celled organisms are believed to have been living in the Earth's oceans. The process of photosynthesis, a chemical reaction that turns carbon dioxide and water into sugars for food, may have come into play at this point. It's waste product, oxygen, would eventually become important to us.

Two billion years ago, photosynthetic bacteria called cyanobacteria released oxygen into the oceans and atmosphere, allowing us to eventually waste a lot of hot air arguing about this stuff. These rocks, called stromatolites, show a record of this process.

Scientists believe that 2.5 billion years ago, eukaryotes, or us (life that is not single celled) would develop from single celled life.

Everything that is alive today may be traced back to the Cambrian Period (533 to 490 million years ago). Did you notice that I just skipped a lot of time? Like billions of years? This is why we have conflicts over issues related to life on Earth.

Trilobites, like this one from the Czech Republic dated 543-490 million years ago, are one of the more common type fossils found from this period. Most, if not all, life was confined to water.

Time periods in the exhibit are divided into time periods of mass extinctions.

This early land plant, defined as Chaleuria Cirrosa from the Devonian Period is dated 417-354 million years ago. The world has a lot of small plants at this time period and what's called the Silurian Period (443-417 million years ago). At this time, plants and animals began moving on land.

Fish began to develop into a recognizable form. This Jawless Fish (ostracoderm) was found in the Devonian period, but did not survive the end of it. Examples of these fish were found in Wyoming and the Netherlands.

But they all died.

The Carboniferous Period (354-290 million years ago) began. Swampy tropical forests developed in Europe, Asia, and North America, which were gathered at the equator (yes, continents move, but that's another story).

Life that wasn't all just little cute and cuddly developed. This shark, or chondrichthyan fish lived in Indiana sometime between 354-290 million years ago (although it wasn't Indiana then, because continents move).

The Permian Period (290-248 million years ago) followed it, and the continents that were swimming around began to form one giant supercontinent: Pangaea.

In this environment, tetrapods, or four-limbed vertebrates, began to come into the forefront. The Edaphosaurus were an example of these new beings. It is one of the earliest known plant eating animals.

But they died. In fact, the end of the Permian Period was also the end of the Paleozoic Era (543 to 248 years ago). This was a real "end of an era," as it is recognized as the largest mass extinction recorded in the history of life on Earth. Scientists are not sure why it happened, although some have a theory (their use, not mine) that volcanic activity led to drastic global warming and the death of many animals. I'll bet though that most scientists will not say that "God did it" and leave it at that.

Well get into those new creatures in my net post though.

RELATED LINKS:
Why Science Conflicts With Religion