mountainsol's blog

Seen: "Drive"

2011-09-20T18:09:00.001-07:00

I saw the movie "drive" last night.

It was described as a crime thriller and had %92 rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Actually it was the review on Rotten Tomatoes that really convinced me to go see it:

A hyper-stylized blend of striking imagery and violence, Drive represents a fully realized vision of arthouse action.

The violence could be described as overboard, but I think it was central to the viewer's understanding of the characters involved. It was key to producing an emotional reaction that helped me relate to the characters.

One of the interesting aspects to me was the main character's seemingly endless reservoir of calm. When things start spiraling out of control, that's when you see the talent of the lead actor in convincingly letting emotion spill through the calm demeanor established earlier in the film.

The tagline for the picture was "there are no clean getaways." It's definitely true of walking out of the theater afterwards. The last 20 - 30 minutes were so intense, I felt my nerves rattled as well.

I was enjoyed the casting because I haven't seen the main characters in other films before. The main character was played by Ryan Gosling. It's interesting he doesn't actually have a name in the film, in fact, Gosling is credited as "Driver" on IMDB.com.

I recognized one of the main characters was played by Bryan Cranston from "Malcom in the Middle," a TV show that's been off the air for some time. Makes me wonder about how actors find work between jobs. The character was "Shannon" and was a good fit for Cranston.

Earlier in the week I'd seen "Contagion" which I enjoyed.

From the previews, "Premium Rush" looks to be pretty interesting. Maybe it's just because I like bikes.

Comments on Knox County Budget Proposal - 2012

2011-05-03T16:31:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Knox County government released a new budget proposal.

My brother-in-law works for Tim Burchett and although I don't share his conservative political philosophy, I do give Burchett credit for some basic governance that makes sense to me.

Some of that common sense involves the political topic de jour: "fiscal responsibility."

I don't make a lot of money, so living within my means is important personally as well as philosophically. So, I support the move to find efficiencies in government.

However, I see increased funding in areas that I see siphoning off funds from important public ventures, like investment in public parks and recreation opportunities, public health services, and library services.

I went through the entire budget proposal, which is available online, and picked out some things I found interesting:

Increase to "Public Safety" department (Knox County Sheriff's Office) which does not seem motivated to be thrifty
"U.S. Soccer Complex" seems to have been zeroed out last year - I don't really care about soccer in West Knox County, but I do believe we need more public parks / sports fields to enhance public health
cuts to park maintenance (speaks to public parks again)
cuts to veterans office (Cuts to Veterans? Really?)
cuts to office of neighborhoods (Is this the same entity as City of Knoxville's Office of Neighborhoods? - what is a community without neighborhood representation?
Why did "Vector Control" go from 62,898 in 2010 to 7,000 in 2011 and 2012? For non-biologists out there - that's "disease vectors" like mosquitos. I already have enough mosquitos in my neighborhood. This seems like a major public health concern.
What is the "Car Seat Program" - surely there are enough car seats for Knox County's toddlers.
Why is there an "inoperable car lot" is that "impound lot?" If it's just a lot for inoperable cars, why do we have a lot full of inoperable cars?
What is the difference between "Digitized Mapping" and "Geographic Information Systems?"
FY12 9,905,053 for "Sheriff's Administration" Seriously? 9 million dollars for administration?
Why was there a cut to "Detectives"
Why was there a cut to "Narcotics"
Why was there a cut to the recycling program? Recycling can save money - our neighbors in Sevier County the East even have a world-renowned composting facility that saves landfill space
Why is there a 459,000 increase in the "Hotel/Motel Tax Fund" What is that?
Why was "stormwater management - violation" phased out?
Why is "Highway and Bridge Maintenance" over 7 million dollars, and increased over 200,000 for FY2012

Great Balls of Fire!

2011-03-15T01:51:00.001-07:00

Great Balls of Fire!

ScienceDirect - Pathophysiology : High scrotal temperatures and chairs in the pathophysiology of poo

March 14, 2011 at 3:38 PM

ScienceDirect - Pathophysiology : High scrotal temperatures and chairs in the pathophysiology of poo

Source: www.sciencedirect.com

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the temperature and humidity of the scrotal skin during sitting on commonly used chairs in relation to body mass index.

Statistically highly significant increase up to 3 °C was recorded
when subjects were sitting on commonly used chairs already in 20 min.
When the subjects were sitting on the saddle chair no increase of
scrotal skin temperature or humidity was observed indicating good
ventilation due to open hip and knee angles. Body mass index correlated
with the scrotal skin temperature, when the subjects were sitting on the
c

I haven't laughed so hard for a while...

2011-03-11T01:26:00.001-08:00

Damn You Auto Correct! » 15 Most Popular Autocorrects From February 2011

March 10, 2011 at 7:20 PM

Damn You Auto Correct! » 15 Most Popular Autocorrects From February 2011

Source: damnyouautocorrect.com

These were the 10 most viewed, most shared, and most popular images sent in to DYAC in February, 2011. Congratulations to the submitters!

Tempest In A Foam Cup: Lawmakers Spar Over Plastic

2011-03-10T16:02:00.001-08:00

What a pity. Our government is supposed to provide leadership. Why don't they use reusable trays and cutlery.... "You wonder what's next," he says. "Lead paint? Asbestos? I mean, there's lots of things that are less expensive as long as you don't care about health and other considerations."

Tempest In A Foam Cup: Lawmakers Spar Over Plastic

via NPR Topics: Environment on 3/5/11

Restaurants in the Capitol used eco-friendly plates, cups and utensils for the last four years under former Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's "Green the Capitol" campaign. Republicans have switched to plastic, citing concerns about cost and quality.

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For Turtles, Earth's Magnetism Is A Built-In GPS

2011-03-08T01:14:00.001-08:00

For Turtles, Earth's Magnetism Is A Built-In GPS : NPR

March 7, 2011 at 8:39 PM

For Turtles, Earth's Magnetism Is A Built-In GPS : NPR

Source: www.npr.org

Loggerhead turtles are born with an ability to know where they are on Earth, and which way to swim to get to favorable feeding grounds, a new study finds. It turns out an extreme sensitivity to the planet's magnetic field lets them determine both longitude and latitude as they migrate.

http://www.npr.org/2011/03/02/134175104/for-turtles-earths-magnetism-is-a-built-in-gps?ft=1&f=1025

New Tennessee environmental chief represented polluters in court

2011-03-07T17:27:00.001-08:00

The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation is not simply an environmental protection agency. It is a natural resources management agency responsible for Tennessee State Parks. The fact that a person who does not have a background in Natural Resources management was hired to fill this spot reveals Governor Haslam's intentions for the post.

Sent to you by Mountainsol via Google Reader:

New Tennessee environmental chief represented polluters in court | The Tennessean | tennessean.com

via Tanner Jessel's Facebook Links by Tanner Jessel on 2/23/11

New Tennessee environmental chief represented polluters in court | The Tennessean | tennessean.com

Source: shar.es

Bob Martineau's past as a top environmental lawyer is making some activists skittish; others say his knowledge will be an asset.

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Odd Homophobic Rhetoric

2010-12-22T16:02:00.000-08:00

I found this odd rhetoric on a news article about the recent repeal of "Don't Ask Don't Tell."

My background is in ecology and evolutionary biology so I tend to think that homosexuality is a product of genetics, not a choice. The alternative viewpoint, that homosexuality is a choice, is not viable, from my perspective. Homosexuals have no more choice about who they are attracted to than do heterosexuals. Lines of evidence resulting from scientific inquiry supports this and I'm certain I can find papers and links to substantiate my assertion.

Below is the string of comments I found simply confounding"

December 22, 2010
11:22 a.m.
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Dalphonso writes:

Public sexual perversion isn't something I will ever tolerate. Homosexuality isn't a condition any more than beastiality or incest is a condition. It's a behavior.

This law is one step further towards the ultimate goal of forcing acceptance of deviant sexual behavior on those of us who are repulsed by it.

Now more of our tax dollars are going to be wasted on treating hepatitis within the military while decreasing the overall fighting ability. The U.S. is rotting from within because fewer people have the courage to stand up against our domestic enemies.

December 22, 2010
11:28 a.m.
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justaguyintennesseetoo writes:

in response to Dalphonso:

Public sexual perversion isn't something I will ever tolerate. Homosexuality isn't a condition any more than beastiality or incest is a condition. It's a behavior.

This law is one step further towards the ultimate goal of forcing acceptance of deviant sexual behavior on those of us who are repulsed by it.

Now more of our tax dollars are going to be wasted on treating hepatitis within the military while decreasing the overall fighting ability. The U.S. is rotting from within because fewer people have the courage to stand up against our domestic enemies.

So, in your thought process there is no difference between a gay person and a child molester? Is that what you are trying to say?

December 22, 2010
11:30 a.m.
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Dalphonso writes:

in response to justaguyintennesseetoo:

So, in your thought process there is no difference between a gay person and a child molester? Is that what you are trying to say?

If that were what I was trying to say I would have said it. As it is, I didn't. Brush up on your reading skills.

December 22, 2010
11:46 a.m.
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DavidGarrettJunior writes:

in response to Dalphonso:

Public sexual perversion isn't something I will ever tolerate. Homosexuality isn't a condition any more than beastiality or incest is a condition. It's a behavior.

This law is one step further towards the ultimate goal of forcing acceptance of deviant sexual behavior on those of us who are repulsed by it.

Now more of our tax dollars are going to be wasted on treating hepatitis within the military while decreasing the overall fighting ability. The U.S. is rotting from within because fewer people have the courage to stand up against our domestic enemies.

Are gay people your enemy? The way I was always taught by my parents was to mind my own business, but if you see someone being treated unfairly then try to help them.

December 22, 2010
11:50 a.m.
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LeadGuts writes:

in response to Dalphonso:

Public sexual perversion isn't something I will ever tolerate. Homosexuality isn't a condition any more than beastiality or incest is a condition. It's a behavior.

This law is one step further towards the ultimate goal of forcing acceptance of deviant sexual behavior on those of us who are repulsed by it.

Now more of our tax dollars are going to be wasted on treating hepatitis within the military while decreasing the overall fighting ability. The U.S. is rotting from within because fewer people have the courage to stand up against our domestic enemies.

Hush up you ignoramus

December 22, 2010
11:54 a.m.
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LeadGuts writes:

in response to Dalphonso:

If that were what I was trying to say I would have said it. As it is, I didn't. Brush up on your reading skills.

Rhetoric like yours was what escalated into the hatred that fueled Nazi Germany.

December 22, 2010
12:05 p.m.
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Dalphonso writes:

in response to DavidGarrettJunior:

Are gay people your enemy? The way I was always taught by my parents was to mind my own business, but if you see someone being treated unfairly then try to help them.

Forcing someone to accept and fund your own deviant behavior is hardly "minding your own business" wouldn't you say? Does it sound fair to you?

Those who seek to destroy this country and its ability to defend itself are my enemy. Sexual behavior isn't the defining characteristic. Such comments as you made are an attempt to silence me rather than engage me in debate.

I do wish those of you who disagree with me could come up with something more than the canned (and inaccurate) arguments that could have been copied and pasted from other sites. I'm putting original thoughts into my posts and you guys are are just reacting with regurgitated accusations that do not address my actual comments.

Please try harder. I enjoy a good debate with anyone intelligent enough to provide one.

December 22, 2010
12:41 p.m.
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justaguyintennesseetoo writes:

in response to Dalphonso:

If that were what I was trying to say I would have said it. As it is, I didn't. Brush up on your reading skills.

"Homosexuality isn't a condition any more than beastiality or incest is a condition. It's a behavior."

That is exactly what you said! Can you tell me what the difference is between a child molester and someone who prefers animals or their sibling?

December 22, 2010
12:47 p.m.
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MisterJayJune writes:

in response to Dalphonso:

Public sexual perversion isn't something I will ever tolerate. Homosexuality isn't a condition any more than beastiality or incest is a condition. It's a behavior.

This law is one step further towards the ultimate goal of forcing acceptance of deviant sexual behavior on those of us who are repulsed by it.

Now more of our tax dollars are going to be wasted on treating hepatitis within the military while decreasing the overall fighting ability. The U.S. is rotting from within because fewer people have the courage to stand up against our domestic enemies.

You say, "This law is one step further towards the ultimate goal of forcing acceptance of deviant sexual behavior on those of us who are repulsed by it."

I'm probably not the person to have the debate you ask for later, but some things you say make me curious. By the statement I just put in quotes, do you mean there is an ultimate goal of forcing the population of the United States to engage in homosexual behavior, or just a goal of forcing us to accept it?

December 22, 2010
11:22 a.m.
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U.S. Humanitarian Missions Promoting Democracy

2010-12-01T19:12:00.000-08:00

State Department offers to protect activists exposed by WikiLeaks

http://edition.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/12/01/wikileaks.human.rights.activists/

http://www.usaid.gov/about_usaid/

Our Work supports long-term and equitable economic growth and advances U.S. foreign policy objectives by supporting:

economic growth, agriculture and trade;
global health; and,
democracy, conflict prevention and humanitarian assistance.

State Department - "Humanitarian assistance" Results 1 - 10 of about 5120 for humanitarian assistance. Search took 0.23 seconds

http://search.state.gov/search?oe=utf8&ie=utf8&output=xml_no_dtd&lr=lang_en&client=americagov&proxystylesheet=americagov&getfields=*&site=americagov&q=humanitarian%20assistance

http://www.america.gov/global/democracy.html

http://www.america.gov/global/develop.html

http://www.america.gov/relations/security.html

Peace Corps

http://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=about

Office of Humanitarian Assistance, Disaster Relief & Mine Action

http://www.dsca.osd.mil/programs/HA/HA.htm

http://www.dsca.osd.mil/PressReleases/dsca_trifold_compatible.pdf

U.S. Air Force humanitarian efforts

http://www.af.mil/rss/TopStoriesByCategory.asp?catId=3

U.S. Army humanitarian efforts

http://search.ahp.us.army.mil/search/articles/?search=humanitarian

U.S. Navy humanitarian efforts

http://search.dma.mil/search?client=navy_search&site=navy_all&output=xml_no_dtd&proxystylesheet=navy_search&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&as_q=humanitarian&num=10&btnG=Search&as_epq=&as_oq=&as_eq=&lr=&as_occt=any&as_dt=i&as_sitesearch=&sort=&as_lq=

My Google Account is Hacked!!!

2010-10-06T08:04:00.000-07:00

MY Google Account has been hacked!!!!

Please see this is as an example of hacking. This is the message I have recieved.

I AM NOT IN THE UNITED KINGDOM.

I AM IN OAK RIDGE, TENNESSEE!!!!

'm writing this with tears in my eyes,my family and I came over here
to London,United Kingdom for a short vacation. unfortunately,we were
mugged at the park of the hotel where we stayed,all cash and credit
card were stolen off us but luckily for us we still have our passports
with us.

We've been to the Embassy and the Police here but they're not helping
issues at all and our flight leaves in few hours from now but we're
having problems settling the hotel bills and the hotel manager won't
let us leave until we settle the bills. Well I really need your
financial assistance..Please, Let me know if you can help us out?

Am freaked out at the moment!!

Appalachian Trail: meet Five-Twenty Kilovolt Transmission Tower

2010-09-14T19:14:00.000-07:00

I submitted these comments at http://parkplanning.nps.gov/projectHome.cfm?projectID=25147

The related document with alternatives to consider is: Preliminary Alternatives Newsletter - July 2010

Below are my comments:

For some reason, probably related to financial reasons, the applicant wants to run a 520 KV line through some National Park Service Units. They can go around, but prefer to widen their existing right-of-way across three national park units and turn the protected lands into construction zones.

I prefer alternative 7 as it moves the line farthest from public lands, buffering the parks from harm done by a profit-motivated business interest. My next choice is alternative 4. I am strongly opposed to the applicant's preferred route proposed in Alternative 2 for the following reasons:

1. The new lines are double the height of the current structures and will infringe on the increasingly rare wilderness experience our National Parks offer.

2. Structures are a major cause of mortality among wildlife like birds and bats. Why build bigger structures on land that's supposed to help, not hinder, wildlife conservation?

3. The power company says their preferred route is critical. I submit it is critical to their profit margin. It's apparent their motive is to connect the low-cost coal resources of the Appalachians to the power-hungry, rather than invest in a distributed grid powered by locally produced renewable energy like wind, solar, hydro, biomass, and geothermal. Their unwillingness to invest in these more sustainable technologies should not come at the cost of public lands.

4. The power company says delay on this project puts Americans at risk of blackouts and brownouts. But from a security perspective, what's the sense of creating a centralized grid that's vulnerable to sabotage?

Thank you for considering my comments. I look forward to enjoying Northeastern U.S. National Park Service units free of the blemishes of large, unnecessary technological structures.

Sincerely,

Tanner Jessel

Mountaintop Removal

2009-12-05T08:33:00.001-08:00

Mountaintop removal has been on my mind lately. In October, I attended a public hearing on mountaintop removal on suspension and modification of nationwide permit 21. Apparently, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers issued a blanket permit to allow the placement of mining wastes (the industry calls it "overburden") into our mountain headwaters.

So basically, what you have is a blanket permit for the wholescale destruction of our mountains and our mountain streams. The mining industry prefers this method because it's the most profitable - compared to deep mining that employs hundreds for years, it takes only a handful of employees and a few months to operate the huge machines that tear down mountains.

But the true cost isn't factored into the market price. Air and water pollution, loss of native plants and animals, loss of unique scenic vistas important for eco-tourism, increased flooding risk, and loss of water supplies are not factored into this profit-seeking equation. While the coal companies take all the profits, the rest of society is holds the bill for the cost of losing the valuable service mountains provide, from simple personal enjoyment to regional availability of clean drinking water.

I feel like if more people knew about mountaintop removal, there would be such public outrage that the practice would be shut down immediately.

I was at Knoxville's "First Friday" event last night enjoying Knoxville's art scene. In addition to some great art, I was pleased to see that the organization Save Our Cumberland Mountains , now known as "Statewide Organizing for Community eMpowerment," was staffing an information booth about mountaintop removal strip mining.

I picked up a "I Love Mountains" bumper sticker - I'll be sure to put that on my car to spread the word.

I suggest checking out http://www.ilovemountains.org/ for more about Mountaintop removal coal mining. They have videos and much more information that I could speak with any authority about.

2009-02-20T19:21:00.001-08:00

I listen to the greatest music

2008-09-22T16:54:00.000-07:00

It's true, I listen to the greatest music. I'm thinking of getting a iPhone so that I can listen to Pandora Radio all the time. My pandora stations and page is here, <http://www.pandora.com/people/mountainsol>. I have a lot of bookmarked songs that are really amazing. That's why I bookmarked them don't you know... For example I am listening to Grito Nocturno Right now. It's bookmarked. Check it out or listen to it on iTunes. It has an awesome bass line. And I have a really cool subwoofer... it shakes my house! In a similar vein is Ghostwriter (Remix). There are a lot of others. I'm interested in a lot of types of music, which I think is why Pandora is so great- it plays music according to similarities between songs. On our local radio station, which is great btw, there are different shows that play music. Still the songs are grouped by genre instead of actual components. That's what I like about pandora, something you'd never guess will pop up into the playlist. Another Band that I really like is Ratatat.

Some of the music I love is played on NPR. Does that mean I'm out of date or really hip? Songs from Massive Attack, DJ Shadow, and Thievery Corporation find their way on there. When music becomes embedded in popular culture... does that mean it's more relevent or in decline from relevancy? For example one of Massive Attatck's songs is the opening credits for "House" and I think also for some other TV program.