General

For use when I really don’t have time to figure out to what category the post should belong.

Sound and Fury?

~ Guy Hall

Was Sessions a part of the Trump campaign at the time he spoke with the Russian ambassador? If not, than I am at a loss as to what the big deal is? If he talked to the ambassador as a part of his senatorial duties, the misspeak is just that, and not an out and out lie.

(CNN) Attorney General Jeff Sessions met twice last year with the top Russian diplomat in Washington whose interactions with President Donald Trump’s former national security adviser Mike Flynn led to Flynn’s firing, according to the Justice Department.

Sessions did not mention either meeting during his confirmation hearings when he said he knew of no contacts between Trump surrogates and Russians. A Justice official said Sessions didn’t mislead senators during his confirmation.

I’m not interested in pearl clutching and hysterics at this time. I’d much prefer to wait until the FBI does its report.

Update: Well, it appears he was attached to the Trump campaign at the time.

(Business Insider) The advisory team, headed by US Senator Jeff Sessions, includes terrorism expert Walid Phares, energy industry executive Carter Page, international energy lawyer George Papadopoulos, former government inspector general Joe Schmitz, and former Army Lieutenant General Keith Kellogg, he told the Post in an on-the-record editorial board meeting, according to the media company.

Running

~ Guy Hall

Yes, I know. It’s been a while since I exercised. Winter does that. Or, more appropriately, I let winter be an excuse not to run or exercise. Anyway, today I went out and ran. 42.31 minutes per my Fitbit. 32 minutes of that in the peak heart rate zone. 8 minutes in the cardio area. And 26 minutes in the field above cardio but not in peak. My highest heart rate was towards the end of the run. I hit 176, two beats above max. It was but for a moment.

I forgot to change the setting on MapMyRun from Treadmill to run, so it didn’t track my distance. But at this point, just getting over 40 minutes is more important than my speed or distance.

Ah, No

~ Guy Hall

(ShareBlue) The end result of this, though, is that our opponents, the media, and the whole world will soon see, as we begin to take further actions, that the powers of the president to protect our country are very substantial, and will not be questioned.

The Founding Fathers’ declaring independence was an act of challenging King George’s authority. Our nation is founded on the principle of questioning and defying authority. You don’t get to proclaim you are above reproach, Donald Trump. You are but a 3rd of the government. You share power with the Legislature and the Judiciary. You are not a dictator. You are an elected servant of the people. We have every right to challenge and question your performance while you hold the Office of President.

So suck it up Buttercup. The Government is not a business.

News

~ Guy Hall

So, I put in for a transfer to MCF – Lino Lakes and it was accepted. I will be working as a release planner. Currently, I am living in Duluth and will be driving for a bit from there until I can find a suitable place for Tina and me to rent. It appears to be about a 2-hour drive. Not exactly the ideal situation while I am also doing two online classes. But, like I said, I am looking for a place that is small enough so as not to be overwhelming to clean, allows pets, and is centrally located so Tina can find a job that is within a 20-minute drive.

The New York Times Gained A Set!

~ Guy Hall

Okay, all the years of the Bush II Administration and never was a lie called out as a lie. Even the vaulted New York Times failed to call a lie a lie.

(New York Times) WASHINGTON — President Trump used his first full day in office on Saturday to unleash a remarkably bitter attack on the news media, falsely accusing journalists of both inventing a rift between him and intelligence agencies and deliberately understating the size of his inauguration crowd.

In a visit to the Central Intelligence Agency intended to showcase his support for the intelligence community, Mr. Trump ignored his own repeated public statements criticizing the intelligence community, a group he compared to Nazis just over a week ago.

See those words there? The ones I highlighted? Yeah, that’s calling out lies.

Good on ya, New York Times!

Update: “Journalism is printing what someone else does not want printed. Everything else is public relations.” – George Orwell

The Farmer and The Viper

~ Guy Hall

The story concerns a farmer who finds a viper freezing in the snow. Taking pity on it, he picks it up and places it within his coat. The viper, revived by the warmth, bites his rescuer, who dies realizing that it is his own fault. The story is recorded in both Greek and Latin sources. In the former, the farmer dies reproaching himself “for pitying a scoundrel,” while in the version by Phaedrus the snake says that he bit his benefactor “to teach the lesson not to expect a reward from the wicked.” The latter sentiment is made the moral in Medieval versions of the fable. Odo of Cheriton‘s snake answers the farmer’s demand for an explanation with a counter-question, “Did you not know that there is enmity and natural antipathy between your kind and mine? Did you not know that a serpent in the bosom, a mouse in a bag and fire in a barn give their hosts an ill reward?”

Because it seems lessons for the populous are usually not learned by the populous.

Spring Semester

~ Guy Hall

I’ve started Spring Semester. Two online classes. One for Psychology, the other through the Pharmacy School. Both are writing intensive. I really didn’t have a choice as I was late getting around to registering. So, basically the first three classes of my resuming my education are writing intensive. I’m a glutton for punishment.

What My Parents Taught Me

~ Guy Hall

It’s simple, really. If your team fails to make the playoffs you always support the teams in your division, and then in your conference. So, with that said (and with a bit of a bitter taste in my mouth) Go Packers!

Science Fact

~ Guy Hall

It’s no longer science fiction. We now live in a time where a rocket can blast off, separate, and than land! And not only land, but land right on the x of a pad on a drone ship in the middle of the Pacific. I am soooooo geeking out right now.

This is the live feed. But I’m sure you can find the launch. Oh, and for the record, the first stage took off and landed all under 10 minutes.

Two Things

~ Guy Hall

One, seems there’s some kind of brute attack going on against WordPress sites so a pop-up is saying to use WordPress for both the user and password. If you have a user name for this site and plan on commenting, or such, go ahead and do as it says. If you’re just here to read, hit cancel.

Two, my classes for Spring 2017 have shown up on Moodle. Moodle is the program used to organize and control online classes at the U of M. It looks like I’m up for a lot of writing this semester as both classes are writing intensive. Unfortunately I was a bit late in getting around to registering for classes, so I didn’t have much of a choice. And that’s alright. I need to bone up on academic writing anyway. I am going to be much busier this semester than last. And last semester kicked my ass! Thankfully I don’t have any lectures I need to be watching 3 times a week like I did with Intro to Psychology. That was brutal. However, I believe there will be a weekly presentation in the Pharmacy class. Oh, and only one class has a text book, which is History of Psychology.

Technically both classes start on the 17th. However, I am planning on getting a jump on them this weekend. Actually, I already got a jump on both by watching the introduction videos. My hope is that though I’m taking 6 credits this semester, they will be less work overall than the 4 credit Intro to Psychology class of last semester.