Good evening everyone.. It’s another weeknight in winter here in coal country.. this image of a moment in time in Schuylkill County, taken tonight during the latest Nor’Easter.
Be safe
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
To me, this seems to be a pretty big deal: Facebook is going to let advertisers REPUBLISH user posts
You will be updating your Facebook, doing product placements, and won’t even know it..
From the AP story:
NEW YORK (AP) — Facebook users who check in to a store or “like” a brand may soon find those actions re-transmitted on their friends’ pages as a “Sponsored Story” paid for by advertisers.
Currently there is no way for users to decline this feature
There is something really creepy about Facebook, and anyone who thinks about it knows it, even if you have a Facebook.
I have been steadily ending lots of updates on there and stopped publishing my Coal Speaker Tumblr feed on there too for fear of this very thing.. I may not matter or be a big deal to the masses of advertisers, but.. even if there’s a chance an advertiser would use me without concern is enough to make me want to quit Facebook altogether.
To me, this seems to be a pretty big deal: Facebook is going to let advertisers REPUBLISH user posts
Well tickle us pink: The famed Homeland Security color coded terror alerts are going..
No more orange.
No more red.
We never were green..
Well tickle us pink: The famed Homeland Security color coded terror alerts are going..
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
This photo provided by the office of U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords shows Mark Kelly watching the State of the Union address with Giffords in her hospital room in Houston, Tuesday, Jan. 25, 2011. MORE(AP Photo/Office of U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords)
John Boehner is not a man of the 'clap'
I think I respect that
I don’t the think guy clapped much, for even things he agreed with. Maybe he will cry if he does
ROOFERS SOLAR SHINGLES AND CLEAN ENERGY OH MY
…plus never thought a President would say the words “google” and “facebook” during a State of the Union.
This part of the State of the Union should fire some people up
Half a century ago, when the Soviets beat us into space with the launch of a satellite called Sputnik¸ we had no idea how we’d beat them to the moon. The science wasn’t there yet. NASA didn’t even exist. But after investing in better research and education, we didn’t just surpass the Soviets; we unleashed a wave of innovation that created new industries and millions of new jobs.
This is our generation’s Sputnik moment. Two years ago, I said that we needed to reach a level of research and development we haven’t seen since the height of the Space Race. In a few weeks, I will be sending a budget to Congress that helps us meet that goal. We’ll invest in biomedical research, information technology, and especially clean energy technology – an investment that will strengthen our security, protect our planet, and create countless new jobs for our people.
Sputnik!? What about the United States’ space mission!? He just must be a Commie!
State of the Union: Ken Salazar to serve as 'designated survivor' - won't attend
Here’s the full list of absent Cabinet secretaries since 1984:
January 27, 2010: Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan
February 24, 2009: Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr.
January 28, 2008: Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne
January 23, 2007: Attorney General Alberto Gonzales
January 31, 2006: Veterans Affairs Secretary Jim Nicholson
February 2, 2005: Commerce Secretary Donald Evans
January 20, 2004: Commerce Secretary Donald Evans
January 28, 2003: Attorney General John Ashcroft
January 29, 2002: Interior Secretary Gale Norton
February 27, 2001: Veterans Affairs Secretary Anthony Principi
January 27, 2000: Secretary of Energy Bill Richardson
January 19, 1999: HUD Secretary Andrew W. Cuomo
January 27, 1998: Commerce Secretary Bill Daley
February 4, 1997: Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman
January 30, 1996: HHS Secretary Donna Shalala
January 24, 1995: Transportation Secretary Federico Pena
January 25, 1994: Agriculture Secretary Mike Epsy
February 17, 1993: Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt
January 28, 1992: Agriculture Secretary Ed Madigan
January 29, 1991: Interior Secretary Manuel Lujan
January 31, 1990: Veterans Affairs Secretary Edward J. Derwinski
February 9, 1989: No absent cabinet member
January 25, 1988: Interior Secretary Donald P. Hodel
January 27, 1987: Agriculture Secretary Richard Lyng
February 4, 1986: Agriculture Secretary John Block
February 6, 1985: Commerce Secretary Malcolm Baldrige
January 25, 1984: HUD Secretary Samuel R. Pierce Jr.Source: Senate Historical Office
State of the Union: Ken Salazar to serve as 'designated survivor' - won't attend
C-SPAN REPORTING THAT OUR LEGISLATORS CAN LIVE-TWEET FROM THE FLOOR DURING THE SOTU
Seriously.. Cameras (CBS pool this year) can be on the floor during the State of the Union.. But also, according to C-Span’s coverage of the pre-SOTU, smart phones can be on the floor this year, too, which means our Senators and Congresspersons can tweet—if they of couse know what tweeting is, or how to use their phones.
BREAKING NEWS: OBAMA WILL DEFEND HIS HEALTH CARE BILL TONIGHT AGAINST REPUBLICAN REPEAL EFFORTS
WE’LL SEE IF THOSE SITTING TOGETHER WILL STAND AND APPLAUD TOGETHER
Forgive me for being confused, Coal Speaker, but if I'm not mistaken, earlier today you said you wished the senators and congressman would sit apart and be partisan, but now you're making fun of the "high school" nature of the SOTU? A paradox? a contradiction?
Thanks for the question, I appreciate it.
And yes, life itself is a contradiction. It’s a paradox. And as Bonnie Tyler once said, it’s a heartache. But while I cannot describe my “contradiction” in a positive light, I can tell you that I stand by my really EARLY post today (Permalink ∞) .. I think a simple letter would do. No fanfare, no big event.. But big events are in. And State of the Unions are big events. So I admit, I watch and have watched yearly, and I also admit I somewhat have a hidden love of division, when Democrats sit or stand and Republicans do the opposite. I also like the camera-catches of Senators who don’t know they’re on film.. And while I cannot say for sure that “you lie” was a good moment in our brief American history, it sure made a lot of people talk, didn’t it? We like fanfare. I guess we like spectacle. And the State of the Union is just that: Spectacle.
So keep reading. And please keep pointing our contradictions. I love it.
SOTU: It's like prom season all over again
Cantor invites Pelosi to sit together at SOTU
BUT.. Nancy Pelosi said no. Time for Eric Cantor to find another date
As if the annual State of the Union couldn’t get more ‘high school’..
Without going into personal details...
…my wife and I, expecting a child for months, are in the final stages of pregnancy. It’s almost here.. the baby is in place. The parents are ready to pace. The baby’s room will be the place.
Stay tuned… for that and for many other things, which you can find on a daily basis here on CoalSpeaker.com
Meet the woman who eats couch cushions
Maybe she’d enjoy some Taco Bell while she’s at it—at least there’d be more of a chance her couch cushions have meat than the Bell..
Meet the woman who eats couch cushions
Where's the beef? Apparently not Taco Bell
A lawsuit says beef at Taco Bell doesn’t constitute real meat. Cows were elated until they found out they’d still be ground up, but just mixed with water, wheat oats, soy lecithin, maltodrextrin, anti-dusting agent and modified corn starch. Mooo.
Where's the beef? Apparently not Taco Bell
Divided we stand
Is it wrong to wish for Congresspersons and Senators to sit apart tonight? I know unity is in but was divided government ever that bad?
The State of the Union 'will be strong' and other likely things
The union is strong.?As it is every year. Along with commentators stating ‘this is the most important speech of {insert president} political life!’ and ‘this is a make or break moment!’
Not saying it’s not meaningful.. Or that I won’t watch it. But I just most likely watch the post-speech nonsense from talking heads with talking points and overpaid pundits.
And it makes me long for a day that existed long before I lived: When the President would report a state of a union via letter. No cable news.. And no talking heads. But I guess it’s all relative.
Monday, January 24, 2011
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKEJk-3nCwg?feature=oembed&enablejsapi=1&origin=http://safe.txmblr.com&wmode=opaque&w=500&h=374]
Until next time..Goodnight.
(Source: https://www.youtube.com/)
A little note that may interest Coasties
I’ve listened, often with a grain of salt, to Coast to Coast AM since I was a teenage kid growing up during the late 80s and roaring 90s..UFOs, cyberland, crazy guests, Y2K.. but those days are suddenly changing.
Art Bell, the often-retiring host, seems to have retired once more, and maybe this time for good.
George Snoory I mean Noory has hosted for a few years, but never quite replaced Art Bell..
This past weekend, guest host George Knapp, responding to a caller’s question, said Art Bell has retired, that it was his choice, and that the door of Coast to Coast AM is open for him to come back.
In my mind, and maybe my mind is wrong, this effectively kills the show as Art Bell created it.. It will be interesting to see how many Coast ‘insiders’ kill their renewals now that Knapp’s news on Sunday told of Art’s supposed retirement.. Somewhere in Manilla, a ham radio operator now exists named Art Bell, retired from the once great American Southwest..
Love him or hate him, he created a format that many still try to copy.
LIKE A BAD ODOR, IT'S BACK: THE BILL TO ALLOW OBAMA TO HAVE THE INTERNET 'KILL SWITCH' WITH NO COURT REVIEW
"We’re not trying to mandate any requirements for the entire Internet, the entire Internet backbone," said Brandon Milhorn, Republican staff director and counsel for the committee.
CBS news reports:
The revised version includes new language saying that the federal government’s designation of vital Internet or other computer systems “shall not be subject to judicial review.” Another addition expanded the definition of critical infrastructure to include “provider of information technology,” and a third authorized the submission of “classified” reports on security vulnerabilities.
The idea of creating what some critics have called an Internet “kill switch” that the president could flip in an emergency is not exactly new.
LIKE A BAD ODOR, IT'S BACK: THE BILL TO ALLOW OBAMA TO HAVE THE INTERNET 'KILL SWITCH' WITH NO COURT REVIEW
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0kJHQpvgB8?feature=oembed&enablejsapi=1&origin=http://safe.txmblr.com&wmode=opaque&w=500&h=374]
This is not the video we watched during our birthing class — but it’s the one that taught me long before my wife got pregnant.
(Source: https://www.youtube.com/)
I think waiting for our childbirth class to begin is even more nerve racking than waiting for the actual delivery.
However they have a nifty vegetable tray and coffee. Generic. I’ll eat before the …cue the dread music: The childbirth VIDEO.
Reports: 31 killed, at least 100 injured in blast at Moscow airport
Russia calling it a terrorist attack. Bomb erupted in baggage claim area.
Reports: 31 killed, at least 100 injured in blast at Moscow airport
Sunday, January 23, 2011
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FzRH3iTQPrk?feature=oembed&enablejsapi=1&origin=http://safe.txmblr.com&wmode=opaque&w=500&h=374]
Enjoy the last moments of the weekend as it goes by faster than a panda sneeze..
(Source: https://www.youtube.com/)
Suddenly getting close
Only three minutes away until either the Steelers or Jets are Superbowl bound. 5 point game..
Woman suffers from 'Alien Hand Syndrome'
The BBC reported on a woman in New Jersey who suffers from a rare condition known as Alien Hand Syndrome, one in which a person’s hand continuously tries to attack the person who owns it..
In the case of Karen Byrne, her hand does what it wants to do on its own without regard to what she wants it to do.. An operation was even conducted to try to alleviate her problems of her hand hitting and slapping her and having a mind of its own. The BBC reported:
"Karen was unlucky. After the operation, the right side of her brain refused to be dominated by the left.
She has suffered from Alien Hand Syndrome for 18 years, but fortunately for Karen her doctors have now found a medication that seems to have brought the right side of her brain back under some form of control.
Even so I felt it was tactful, when I said goodbye, to give both hands a firm “thank you” shake.”
Bring out your dead! A new calendar is coming
We knew it was coming.. For decades, 2012 and the end times have become synonymous.. Rumors of the end have been the constant caption for the year 2012. The supposed ‘end’ of the Mayan calender (although many scholars simply believe it will the beginning of a new phase of a calendar) is on its way, along with time itself.
MSNBC’s Cosmic Log looks further into the intrigue surrounding the final countdown, but also reports on very real threats to humanity like superstorms, floods, and natural disasters that only seemingly are intensifying before our eyes. Whether they have anything to do with an ancient population being able to peer into the future and know we are about to end is unclear. What is clear, especially with a steady uptick in storm strength, is that lots of frantic people are going to start believing the Mayans did just that..
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EustqiAN2EI?feature=oembed&enablejsapi=1&origin=http://safe.txmblr.com&wmode=opaque&w=500&h=281]
It’s still morning. And it’s Sunday.
(Source: https://www.youtube.com/)
New York TIMES details the horrors of the Philadelphia abortion clinic
The first paragraph of the excellent TIMES story is perfect:
It was always open late, way past the time the pizza place next door closed at midnight. The women who emerged from it — often poor blacks and Hispanics — appeared dazed and in pain, and sometimes left in ambulances. The doctor who ran the clinic, Kermit Gosnell, had been sued at least 15 times for malpractice. Two women died while under his care.
The rest of the story gets worse, we you have been reading already if you follow Coal Speaker
New York TIMES details the horrors of the Philadelphia abortion clinic
Quantum Entanglement Could Stretch Across Time
I don’t really fully comprehend the article. But it’s very interesting nonetheless.
Quantum Entanglement Could Stretch Across Time
Snow angels yes. A snow phallus? ... Nope.
The SCENE magazine from Cleveland is reporting that a 16-year-old boy achieved 15 minutes of fame with a 7 foot tall snow sculpture of a penis. While the kid’s friends liked it, enough people didn’t, forcing Elyria Police Chief to tell the boy to neuter the yard..
The penis is gone, but still existent are images and memory of a giant seven foot tall phallic sculpture that shocked an Ohio neighborhood..
"Who are you sitting next to"
I find it strange.. for the first time in my life of watching the State of the Union speech (and as a dorky kid I even watched it then) I never remembered Congressman and Senators being asked “who are you sitting next to?” .. It’s strange, and weird.. and maybe a part of the whole “unity” thing that we are being told is the issue of the time. But I still would much rather seeing one side of the room applaud while another side sits. I think divided government is not only fun, but also at times productive. Bill Clinton’s Democratic White House worked with a Republican Congress and the economy boomed—and it may very well happen again with Obama.
But never mind that. Does Obama dye his hair? And will people who sit next to each other talk about it.
New York weather: Clear with a chance of 'goo'
The FAA is studying a mystery in Snyder, New York. Last week, a mysterious greenish-yellow goo fell from the sky over the town.
The goo actually turned snow and ice the same color and it seemed to shroud parts of the town in the matter.
Was it blue ice? Excrement from planes? The FAA quickly said no.
The town is fiercely debating why they were gooed.. But at least no birds, fish, or frogs ended up dead. Yet.
Like a Gremlin at midnight, Tumblr got hungry
Three queued posts eaten, one published at the wrong time…
These are some of my least favorite things.
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