Alito confimed

We have a new Supreme Court Justice. Today, Samuel Alito became the 110th United States Supreme Court Justice. The vote came to 58 for and 42 against Alito. All Republicans, except for RINO Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island, voted for the confirmation of Alito. All but four Democrats voted against Alito. So who were the Democrats who broke ranks with their party to support the confirmation of someone who is obviously qualified for the job. Those Democrats are Sen. Byrd of West Virginia, Sen. Conrad of North Dakota, Sen. Johnson of South Dakota, and Sen. Ben Nelson of Nebraska. Will Justices Alito and Roberts stay true to their conservative judicial thought like Justices Scalia and Thomas?

What are the Seahawks team colors?

Using google to figure out the seahawks team colors I entered "seahawks colors". The first link to return was an article written for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazettet. How could that be I wondered. I read the article and discovered the truth about our local team and the local fans.
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06025/643760.stm
Personally I don't own any Seahawks team gear and I too must admit that it does seem strange to have the Seahawks in the Super Bowl.

Trash Compactor vs Nikon 3700

Today, I lost my digital camera due to my careless action at the rubbish shoot in my building. Somehow I managed to drop my camera into the rubbish shoot which is connected to a trash compactor. My building manager explained to me how the system works and why I should consider the camera a loss. Let's just say chances of finding the camera in working condition are doubtful.

So what does this mean?

1. I won't be updating the blog with personal pictures for awhile.
2. I'm getting a new digital camera!!!

If you have digital camera recommendation that are under $300, send me an email.

Measuring stream flow in the wee hours of the night

Using a swoffer meter with a long rod, I can measure the stream flow from a bridge--that way I don't have to get in the stream and face the possibility of getting swept downstream.




Thank God.. Dan B. was able to join me in the field. I really apprecipated having him along for the evening.

Night to Celebrate the Women of SCC

This local band was hired to perform live music for the evening. The group's name is Bar 12

Bush praises Bono at Prayer Breakfast

At the National Prayer Breakfast Bush praised Bono as a "doer". He went on to say, "the thing about this good citizen of the world is he's used his position to get things done. You're an amazing guy, Bono. God bless you." If you recall Bono was named one of Time Magazines Persons of the Year for 2005.

Bono smiles after hearing Bush's comments

Bowling with friends at West Seattle Bowl

I bowled two games... score of 87 first game and 115 second game

West Seattle Bowl


A, C, and A


I go for a strike


Kenny

Happy 250th Mozart

Today is Mozart's birthday!!!

Laura Bush - a uniter, not a divider

I wonder why the first lady is the only person in the Bush Administration who's popular with both Democrats and Republicans. This week after a report for the Dept of Education was published stating that boys lag far behind girls in school, she charged that boys are being overlooked and that "we've paid a lot of attention to girls for the last 30 years ... but we have actually neglected boys" (I turn 30 this year, so all of a sudden my life's history makes sense) .

A psychologist agreed with Laura by saying that boys are suffering because they are sitting in classrooms where they can't perform at the same level as girls and so they cannot compete with girls and this has led to boys "suffering both academically and emotionally".

Solution to the problem could include dividing boys and girls into separate schools or to change the class curriculm to meet better meet the needs of boys. The University of Washington has spearheaded a program called "Project Gear Up" which separates boys and girls in a summer program to teach high school students about college and potential careers. Would Laura Bush endorse a single sex classroom? I think not.

The Department of Education points out that boys:
• Receive the majority of D and F grades given to students in most schools, as high as 70 percent.
• Create 80 percent of classroom discipline problems.
• Account for 80 percent of high school dropouts.
• Are an average of a year to a year-and-a-half behind girls in reading and writing skills.

Mrs. Bush is the mother of two grown daughters, so why should she care. I didn't see Mr. Bush make any comments on the report. The first lady is a former teacher and librarian. She knows the real deal when it come to boys and girls. So maybe she could bring together Democrats and Republicans or better yet conflicting parties in the Middle East. Should she think about running for Senator of Texas. The Bush daughters managed to help daddy win in '04, maybe they could help mommy win in 2007 or 2009.

Women are from Venus, Men are from Mars

As published in "Why Gender Matters: What Parents and Teachers Need to Know About the Emerging Science of Sex Differences".

Language: In girls the language areas of the brain develop before the areas used for spatial relations and geometry. In boys, it's the opposite.

Wiring of the brains: In girls, emotion is processed in the same area of the brain that processes language. But in boys, the regions of the brain involved in talking are separate from those involved in feeling. So it's easier for most girls to talk about their emotions than boys.

Hearing: Girls simply hear better. The typical teenage girl has a sense of hearing seven times more acute than a teenage boy.

Learning: Stress enhances learning in boys, but impairs learning in girls

Is the Mexican government giving migrants a map to US

The Mexican government commission says it will distribute at least 70,000 maps showing highways, rescue beacons, and water tanks in the Arizona desert to curb the death toll among illegal border crossers.

FACT - Mexican's working in the US send home to Mexico 16 billion annually, the second largest source of foreign currency next to oil for the Mexican Government.

What do you think the motives of the Mexican Government are? Helping people or keeping that 16 billion or better yet even coming home?

You've heard that we're exporting the American economy down to Mexico via NAFTA. Back in the 90s, I really thought that NAFTA was a good for everyone but as we can see, it has only allowed American companies to sustain their profits while turning American into consumers rather than producers of goods and kept the Mexican worker in the same working conditions at the same pay. I'm not sure anyone would have thought that NAFTA would have taken away so many American manufacturing jobs. Now that the Mexican government plans to give people maps showing the way to the US, what is the future of the American economy? The Mexican government says that the maps to save its citizens and/or convince its citizens not to go to the US. The bottom of the map says "don't go" and the routes are marked dangerous because "there is no water". I think that most people would get a map to aide their migration into the US rather than use it to convince themselves not to make the journey. Should the US government do nothing to stop the Mexican government?

http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/americas/01/24/migrant.map.ap/

New Balance MX1006

Shoes that I would like to own.

Ground Hog Day Party......

What to come to a Ground Hog Day Party?

Host: Punxsutawney Phil
Location: If you want to come, email me
When: Thursday, February 2, 7:30pm

It happens every year. Punxsutawney Phil peeks out from his hole and looks for his shadow. According to folklore if Phil sees his shadow, he regards it as an omen of six more weeks of bad weather and returns to his hole. If the day is cloudy and, hence, shadowless, Phil takes it as a sign of spring and stays above ground. For Seattlities, Phil's yearly proganostication occur at 4:25 am some 3,000 miles away in the town Punxsutawney, PA. So many of us have never been to a Ground Hog Day Party. Well, this year is your chance. We'll have food/drinks, a reenactment of the Phil's proganostication, and show the 1993 Bill Murray comedy "Ground Hog Day". Mark your calendar for February 2nd and let's hope there aren't six more weeks of winter

The best deal I've seen on parking... this is an actual reserved space and not just a permit giving you the right to park

Getting moving in the exercise room

Lately, I've been getting up at 5am and exercising in fitness room in my building. I've found that this is more productive than going outside in the cold, dark, wet, waterfront trail at this time of morning. The downside is that I not likely to stay on the treadmill for one hour-- I usually spend one hour on my morning waterfront walk/jog.

What's for dinner

This evening I had wheat pasta and ground buffalo for dinner; I must say that it was tastier than the picture below reveals. Buffalo has significantly less fat content and calories than ground beef or chicken. Too further reduce the fat content in my meal I boiled the buffalo to cook it. I'm still searching for a great pasta sauce so email your favorite brands.

Ride the Bus in Seattle?

Trying to ride the bus in Seattle but don't know which metro route is the best. If you have this issue, Google Busmonster is a website you should bookmark! Simply type in the place of interest for example: Naval Reserve Armory. The website queries the system for the Naval Reserve Armory and lets you decide the best route. Try it for yourself.

Happy MLK Day

“We must accept finite disappointment, but we must never lose infinite hope.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.

Capilano Suspension Bridge -- North Vancouver, B.C.

On Andrew's second day in the Northwest we headed north to the great city of Vancouver, B.C. Our border crossing was the easiest that I've done legally. The border agent didn't even look at our IDs before waving us on into Canada. Our first stop in Vancouver was the White Shop, an upscale version of Denny's. Here is where I learned that Andrew really knows how to put food away. After finishing our meal he asked the waitress for the menu so that he could order another entree. As he ate his egg benedict he explained to me how muscle requires more energy than fat and since he lost some 30 pounds and has replaced some of his fat with muscle he needs the calories. I thought to myself, wow that must be what I'm doing wrong. After breakfast we continued to head north and visited the Capilano Suspension Bridge Park. For a longtime I've wanted to visit the Capilano Bridge but I had been hesitant because of the admission price. I must sadly admit that the verdict is still out on this one. Admission is $22.. and after visiting the place I must say that it wasn't worth $22 for me but Andrew thought that it was exciting and interesting enough to justify the price. The place is part thrill and part museum. The thrill is the 450 foot long bridge suspended above a canyon 250 feet. Also in the park is a bridge walk through treetops. To casually walk these two areas takes about 20 mins. The other part of the place is a museum focused on tree biology... as a biologist this part of the facility wasn't really all that interesting.

The suspension bridge is in the background



Andrew on the tree top walk



A couple of years ago a women dropped her baby from the bridge and the baby managed to live



The river below the bridge... each fall of the year this river is loaded with salmon.

Stanley Park - Vancouver, B.C.

Andrew and I visited Stanley Park located literally just outside of downtown Vancouver. The park is 1,000 acres and has huge conifer trees. The park is ranked the sixth best park in North America. This park is absolutely beautiful and it’s hard to imagine any other city park more beautiful.

Harry Jerome Statue

Aerial view of Stanley Park

Somewhere in Stanley Park

Andrew visits Seatte!

This weekend my Andrew visited Seattle. He lives in Houston, Texas where he has a big shot job as a contractor for NASA. Below are a couple of pictures from his visit. The first thing we did was visit the major Seattle landmarks--- the Space Nettle, the first Starbucks, and Pike's Market.




Space Needle Observation Deck

26th day of rain and counting

Well the rains didn't stop. Today, I went to work at 6am to monitor some of the high stream flows. Here are some pictures from today.


This is me using a Swoffer meter.





Some of are monitoring locations are along streams as they run through golf courses. The rain stopped at about 10am and this golfer didn't waste anytime to get out on the green. The grass was so wet he was actually wearing gaiters. He looked goofy wearing them on a golf course; but who knows the style might actually catch-on.

Today a buddy suggested someone should consider gathering animals for the an ark

Today was the 25th day of consecutive rain in Seattle. As I listened to the forecast today trying to figure out if I'll have to work on the MLK holiday, I had a good laugh by hearing the weather man describe the next ten days....-- rain, increasing rain, decreasing rain, steady rain, rain at times, periods of rain, showering, light rain..... below is King5's 10 day forecast. If the forecast holds, we may actually have 30 consecutive days of rain in Seattle.

THURSDAY Increasing rain this morning. Rain at times this afternoon. Highs in the mid to upper 40s.

THURSDAY NIGHT
Rain at times. Breezy north of Everett. Lows in the 40s.

Friday: Rain at times. Highs in the mid to upper 40s. Lows in the 40s.

Saturday: Showers and a few sunbreaks in the morning. Steady rain in the afternoon. Highs in the mid 40s. Lows in the 30s and low 40s.

Sunday: Showers and a few sunbreaks. Highs in the mid 40s. Lows in the 30s and low 40s.

Monday: Rain at times. Highs in the mid 40s. Lows in the 30s and low 40s.

SIX TO 10 DAY OUTLOOK ( TUE JAN 17 - SAT JAN 21 )
Tuesday: Rain at times. Highs mostly in the mid to upper 40s. Lows mostly in the 40s. Wednesday: Decreasing showers. Highs in the mid 40s. Lows in the 40s. Thursday: Partly sunny. Chance of a shower. Highs in the mid 40s. Lows in the 40s. Friday: Increasing rain. Highs in the mid 40s. Lows in the 40s. Saturday: Rain at times. Highs mostly in the mid to upper 40s. Lows mostly in the 40s.

Week 2 fitness test results

The fitness blog site is currently down so I'm posting my fitness test results here for now.

Today's results:

Distance 5.65 miles
Time: 1:06:49

Avg Speed 5.1 mph
Ascent 5.1
Descent 5.1
Flat 5.2

Avg Heart rate: 168bpm
low 95
high 224

Weather: 42.5 degrees; avg wind SSE 5.8 mph

Follow this link if you would like to see where I jog. At the site you can simulate my actual jog this morning:
http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/player/view.mb?episodePk.pkValue=403354

Collateral

Last night I watched Collateral with a good friend. I thought that I had previously seen the movie while playing poker at a friend’s house last Christmas. When the movie started I was surprised that Jada Pickett was in the movie--and that's when I realized that my first viewing really didn't give it justice. I know understand why Jamie Foxx was nominated for an Academy Award for his portrayal of Max. He did a wonderful job of helping us understand the character and the depths of his disillusion with himself. Cruise's character, Vincent, helped Max see that in fact Max had been holding his own life hostage by not truly going after his dreams; he had been stalling thinking that he's just figuring out the details. The most powerful scene was when Max sped the taxi through downtown LA as he realized that someone else was now holding him hostage and in fact he had no control. A great example of showing how doing foolish things things in life really don't help your situation. So what does this mean for me and for anyone else that tries to actually learn something from the movie. Maybe we should end our own disillusions and face death in the face as Max did on the subway car. I think that he had the shootout with Vincent not to save his own life or even Jada's life but he wanted to do something extraordinary. He wanted to show that he wasn't afraid and that his character had been transformed and no longer lived in a fantasy world. We all have our own disillusions and I don't know what it will take for us to face them. Will we find ourselves driving a taxi for 12 years chasing our dreams or will we today step in front of the day and kill the very think that's holding us hostage.

Sunshine causes car crash in Seattle

Today is the 24th straight day of Rain in Seattle. Boy it sure has been wet and no one can tell you more about than your truly since I've been out sampling stormwater and runoff during the heaviest periods of rain. Today I saw an interesting post on the local cable stations website. I copied it below.

Sunshine causes multiple-car crash in downtown Seattle
Wednesday, January 11, 2006

SEATTLE – Traffic was backed up for miles after a burst of sunshine apparently blinded drivers on Interstate 5 in Seattle, causing a multiple car accident. The Washington State Patrol said when the gray skies opened up and the sun came out, at least five cars were involved in the crash. Traffic got by on the shoulder for a brief period before the entire roadway was shut down so emergency crews could manage the scene. It was not immediately known how many people were involved or if there were any injuries. A link to the story is here: http://www.king5.com/localnews/stories/NW_011106WABsuncaraxSW.694c48d9.html

Rain pouring on my head...

These last two weeks, I have spent so much time standing in rain for work, I now longer cover my head with the hood on my rain jacket. It looks like I'll be standing in the rain again today. So far it has already rained 0.5 inches in four hours and it appears more rain is on the way. Our standard for deciding when to take discharge measurements is 0.6 inches in 6 hours or 0.8 inches in 12 hours. No matter which of these standards we use as the bench mark I'll will be heading out to the field very soon. Looks like it may be long night.






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Space Needle Fireworks at the stroke of midnight Jan 1st 2006

Read my fitness contract with myself

With the baptism of a new year, I am committing myself to a routine of focusing on healthy living. This commitment is motivated by my approaching 30th birthday, which occurs on July 14. I have so many exciting adventures planned to celebrate my 30th year of life, and I would like to be in somewhat the best shape of my life during this period. Therefore, I decided to start the year with a twelve-week challenge. This challenge will be followed by a two-week break and then a thirteen-week challenge. Following the second challenge, I will turn 30. I wrote a contract with myself to give me some guidelines for the initial twelve weeks and also to prevent me from skipping workouts or pigging out on junk food. I'm tired of taking the easy road in life and doing the ordinary and being common. I'm hoping this website will allow me to keep track of my progress and focused on the goal so that I separate myself from teh apathetic masses. I posted the contract in my apartment along with a calendar and current picture. The contract follows.

Twelve-Week Challenge

I hereby commit to twelve weeks of daily, intense exercise and to self-controlled eating habits. It is the goal of this contract to create an interesting, fun, and safe environment for me to train and move towards a stronger and leaner body over a twelve-week period.
The terms of this agreement includes approximately one hour of daily strength training and/or cardiovascular exercise whereby I am focused on challenging my endurance and stamina in the pursuit of preparing for my best year ever, which begins on July 14, 2005. The conditioning and strength training will be guided by the Body for Life Training series published at www.bodyforlife.com while cardiovascular workouts will consist of jogging, stair stepping, or rowing in accord with a high intensity training routine.

In addition, I commit to discontinue the consumption of all foods two or more hours prior to bedtime, whenever this occurs; this effort will require me to be conscious of when and why I eat. I will, to the best of my ability, simply eat to satisfy my nutritional needs as opposed to my emotional needs. I will also do my best to make healthy food choices. Under no circumstances will I exceed 3,500 calories a day during this twelve-week period regardless of the situation or the nature of the temptation.

Furthermore, as an eyewitness to every event in my life, I recognize that I have rarely if ever been able to attain this level of focus for a continuous period of more than ten weeks. In an effort to keep my focus, I agree to make journal entries relevant to nutritional and exercise progress at: http://www.muscletank.net/profiles.aspx?grady

I realize that this contract is solely with myself and no other parties are liable. This contract carries no external awards, penalties, or eternal punishments other than those associated with the reflection of my character. I reserve the right to revise this contract at anytime and without any waiting period in the presence of any witness listed below. This contract may be void with the diagnosis of a chronic disease by a medical doctor, an act of war on US soil, or any end times event as described in the book of Revelations.


Signed on: _01/01/06_ by _Johnny Grady, Jr.___


Witnesses:

If you would like to be a witness to my contract, simply send a comment indicating that you are a witness.