I’m going to predict that soda sales in the City of Philadelphia will decline, and there will be no visible revenue gain for the city. Oh, let’s not forget that this will hurt businesses in Philadelphia.

Putting my sympathies for the Confederacy aside, as a nerd, I find this awesome.

My first exposure to the great sport of curling was in the 2002 Olympic games. I was mesmerized by the beauty and majestic way that the stones just glide upon the ice. I was amazed at the way the players could walk and slide on the ice the way they did. I knew that if I tried to do that, I would fall flat on my ass.

Despite my love for the sport, however, I had no idea of what the hell was going on. All I saw was people majestically sliding 42 pound granite stones down 93 feet of ice without an apparent purpose. To paraphrase Michael Scott, curling is ‘poetry’ on ice.

This is why curling is my favourite Olympic sport. While I obviously love hockey, the fact is curling is a rare experience; if I wanted to, I could go shell out about 20 bucks and go see my beloved Predators just about any time in the winter months, but curling only comes on TV a few times every four years—during the winter Olympics!

Therefore, because of my love for the great sport of curling, I will explain some of the basic rules of curling.

The name “curling”
The sport’s name comes from the motion of the stones when they are hurled during play. The stones will very literally curl during play.

Scoring
The game is divided into “ends”. The best way I can explain it is to compare an “end” to an “inning” in baseball. Scoring is done by getting your stones closer to the button (the thing that looks like a bulls eye) than the other team at the end of the end.

The Hammer
When a team “has the hammer” it means that the team will be throwing the last shot of that end. The team that didn’t score in the previous end will get the hammer. This is why teams sometimes choose not to score in a particular end. The hammer can easily be compared to having home field in the bottom of ninth inning in a baseball game.

Sweeping
Sweeping causes friction on the ice, causing a small amount of ice to melt. This causes the stone to keep speed, reduce curling (keep the stone straight), and make the stone go farther.

In an email, Rep. Susan Lynn stated:

Transportation Committee lawmakers echoed criticisms from constituents that in addition to a violation of rights, the motivation behind the cameras is money, not safety.

It should be noted that the bill does not prohibit the possible introduction of ’speed cameras’. However, this bill is very important and needs to pass. I urge you to email your state Rep. or Senator soon.

Ron Paul 31%

Mitt Romney 22%

Sarah Palin 7%

Tim Pawlenty 6%

How about France? Having spent a fair amount of time in Mississippi, I would cast France as the southern states – a deep attraction to its rural tradition and a suspicion of New York (ie London). Indeed, if you look back through history, the southern states were very hostile towards the “money power” (think Andrew Jackson) just as the French now dislike Anglo-Saxon capitalism.

Interesting…

While I understand the we in the South are the cultural epicentre of America, I’m not sure France is the cultural epicentre of Europe. Of course the French would disagree…but no one listens to them.

Sarah Palin endorsed Dr. Rand Paul for US Senate.

Also:

Sarah Palin is coming to Kentucky to campaign for Rand Paul this spring. Details coming soon…

Mahmound Ahmadinejad said, according to The Telegraph:

“Iran will retaliate of course, if somebody acts against Iran our response will definitely be firm enough make them regretful,” [. . . .] “Sanctions will not harm Iran.”

The government doesn’t care about economic sanctions; the leader knows it will not harm them, as it will only cause harm to the people not in power—which is exactly what Ahmadinejad wants.

We know that it will be at least a few years before the Iranians can develop The Bomb, despite this the Saudis, and many others, are sounding the alarm. Or it might be that the Saudis see the Iranians as competition—you know, that oil stuff.

These sanctions will only empower the government of Iran, by de-powering the opposition. Furthermore, these sanctions will fail to achieve any desired goal, since the government of Iran doesn’t really want free trade anyway.

Yes, the President is Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces, but this only applies to the use of such forces in times of war:

The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United
States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual
Service of the United States (Article II, Section 2, US Constitution).

Further, it is the power of congress to regulate the discipline of the armed forces:

To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining the Militia, and for
governing such Part of them as may be employed in the Service of the United
States, reserving to the States respectively, the Appointment of the Officers,
and the Authority of training the Militia according to the discipline
prescribed by Congress (Article I, Section 8).

Likewise, 10 U. S. C. § 654 (“Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”) states:

(c) Entry Standards and Documents. – (1) The Secretary of Defense
shall ensure that the standards for enlistment and appointment of
members of the armed forces reflect the policies set forth in
subsection (b).

The term “shall” is a mandatory term. The executive branch is given no leeway in the matter.