Sleepless in Midland

Ross Perot's heroic rescue of employees from Iran

Ross Perot died the other day. He was a very accomplished man and a genuine hero. He is being remembered in the MSM today for his independent run for the presidency. But there's another story that should be remembered, and that's how Perot masterminded an escape from Iran of two of his employees following the Iranian revolution.

Here's the short hand version. Perot terminated a contract he had with Iran and removed all but two of his employees. Those two were put into a prison. Perot's escape plan involved his hand picked crew helping instigate a riot which stormed the prison and released all the prisoners. The two employees hooked up with Perot's crew and managed to escape beyond the Iranian border.

To read Perot's own account of the story see An Iran Rescue That Worked in WaPo. Alternate link.

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2:16 PM 7/10/2019

At least Gillette is honest

TV commentators are abuzz about Gillette's social-justice-warrior, anti-male attitude in its most recent commercial. It's as if Mad Men have been replaced by *Mad Women.

But at least we know where Gillette stands. Look at the other commercials on TV with an eye out for this issue and you'll see plenty of ads that insult men much more subtly. Take the Progressive insurance ads, for example. The white men in them are useless idiots.

Decades ago feminists complained about the demeaning portrayal of women in TV commercials of the day. Now it's the other way around. You've come a long way, baby. The battle between the sexes is over, and men lost.

Meanwhile, I have not been a Gillette customer since I purchased a double edge razor at the local grocery store and began using off-brand blades. A comment to a blog post about that change mentioned Astra blades. I tried them, and they're pretty good. Another blade maker is Feather. Both are available through Amazon.

*Surprise: Genius behind man-hating Gillette ad is a radical feminist.

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11:16 AM 1/16/2019

Shaving face

I shave on most days, and the two devices I use most commonly are an old Norelco electric razor and a blade razor.

After hearing so many ads for safety razors I decided to try them after many years of using one of the Gillette Fusions with the disposable multi-blade razor cartridge. But it's old, and I'm afraid that the blades available these days might not fit. They are too expensive for trial and error.

I dug out an old safety razor and put a new blade in it. But the razor had been dropped too many times and resulted in too much blood letting.

So I ended up buying a new Van Der Hagen safety razor along with some of that brand's blades. It works great. And so far, no cuts!

All this came to mind as I read this popsci.com article: For the closest shave, get naked—doctor's orders. Basically, it says the best time to shave is after a shower while the face is wet and warm. (Actually, a basin of warm water and a wash cloth can achieve the same effect.)

Among the other suggestions are to use a shaving gel rather than cream:

Next, Fenton suggests you thoroughly rub a shave gel or cream into your face. Generally, he thinks the gels do a better job. Lathering in the goo helps the whiskers stand up on their ends, making them easier to mow down with your razor blades like you’re the grim reaper scything souls. If you’re not shaving in the shower, let the gel sit for a couple minutes before you pick up your razor.

And this:

Fenton suggests shaving with the grain, not against it, to avoid irritation and ingrown hairs. Jaber also recommends going with the grain, but says, “If you want a really close shave, and your skin can handle shaving against the grain, by all means do it.” It all depends on how sensitive your skin is and how close a cut you want.

After each stroke, rinse off your razor. This will keep it clean so it cuts efficiently.

As for cuts, I've relied on the styptic pencil to stop the bloodshed. But here's their alternative:

What if you’ve actually cut yourself though? First, apply pressure to stop the bleeding. Then cover the tiny wound with a product like Vaseline or Aquaphor to help it heal, says Jaber.

Meanwhile, those of us who like to stretch the pennies are likely curious about how to sharpen a razor blade. The most common advice on the net is to strop them on blue jean material.

Good luck, and may all your shaves be blood free.

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2:03 PM 7/6/2018

If you are climbing up a cliff, why would you want to be tethered to another climber?

I'm referring here to the accident reported to have occurred on 6/2/2018 at El Capitan. See Two Expert Climbers Killed in Fall From El Cap’s Freeblast:

On the morning of June 2 at 8 a.m., while speed climbing on the lower pitches of the Salathé Wall on El Capitan—a section called Freeblast—two highly experienced climbers, Tim Klein and Jason Wells, were involved in a fatal accident. The team was simul-climbing through Pitch 9 or 10, 5.7 terrain approaching Mammoth Terraces, when the incident occurred. A scream was heard and both climbers fell, roped together, 1,000 feet to the ground.

"Both climbers fell, roped together." Boy! Adrenalin junkies get a charge out of risk taking. But can you imagine the feeling, although it would not last long, of being hauled down a 1,000 foot drop by some other climber to whom you are tethered?

The momentum of two grown men falling at terminal velocity would exert hundreds of pounds of thrust. It's hard to envision any climbing anchor strong enough to stop them.

They were supposed to have been simul-climbing. Here's a primer on that particular technique: Advanced Techniques: Simul-Climbing and Short-Fixing with this warning: "Falling while simul-climbing is incredibly dangerous because there is no fixed anchor to take the force of the fall."

You don't say.

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10:17 AM 6/3/2018

Lawrence Wright provides a colorful word picture of the first gusher in a primer about the Texas oil industry

Lawrence Wright did the historical research and brings it up to date for readers of The New Yorker. Read it at The Dark Bounty of Texas Oil. Here's a excerpt in the part about the early days with a colorful picture of the first gusher:

Around the turn of the twentieth century, near Beaumont—on the Gulf Coast, close to the Louisiana state line—there was a sulfurous hill called Sour Spring Mound. Natural gas was perpetually seeping to the surface, and schoolboys sometimes set the hill afire. Patillo Higgins, a disreputable local businessman who had lost an arm in a gunfight with a deputy sheriff, became convinced that oil was trapped below the mound. At the time, wells weren’t drilled; they were essentially pounded into the earth, using a heavy bit that was repeatedly lifted and dropped, chiselling its way through the strata. There was quicksand beneath Sour Spring Mound, and it confounded any attempt to bore a stable hole. Nevertheless, the persistent Higgins forecast that oil would be struck at a thousand feet beneath the surface—a figure he simply made up.

In 1898, Higgins hired a mining engineer, Captain Anthony F. Lucas, to help him dig wells at Sour Spring Mound. Lucas’s first effort delved only five hundred and seventy-five feet before the pipe collapsed. He decided to try a novel device called a rotary bit, which turned out to be more suitable for penetrating soft layers. The drillers at the site also discovered that by pumping mud down the hole a kind of concrete formed, which buttressed the sides. These innovations created the modern drilling industry.

Lucas and his team hoped to establish a well that could produce fifty barrels of oil a day. On January 10, 1901, at a thousand and twenty feet—almost precisely the depth predicted by Higgins’s wild guess—the well suddenly vomited mud, and then ejected six tons of drilling pipe clear over the top of the derrick. Nobody had seen anything like this, and it was terrifying. In the unnerving silence that followed, the drilling team, drenched in mud, crept back to the site and began cleaning up debris. Then they heard a roar from deep in the earth, from an era millions of years ago. More mud flew up, followed by rocks and gas and then by oil, which spouted a hundred and fifty feet into the air: a black fountain surging from the arterial wound that the drillers had made. It was the greatest oil discovery in history. For the next nine days, until the well was capped, the gusher spurted into the air a hundred thousand barrels of oil a day—an output that exceeded the production of all the other wells in America combined. After the first year of operation, the well, which Higgins named Spindletop, was producing seventeen million barrels a year.

It's a long article, and that was just a taste. The article published in the print edition of the January 1, 2018, issue was titled “The Glut Economy.” Apparently, they thought "The Dark Bounty of Texas Oil" would be more appealing to the web audience.

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3:04 PM 12/26/2017

Instead of comparing DOD cost of transgender care to Viagra expenditures maybe we should ask why erectile dysfunction is a problem in the military

Some of the proponents of transgenders in the military have noted something. See Senator Tammy Duckworth: Military Should Cut Viagra Funding Before Trans Health Care:

On Wednesday, Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) rebuffed the claim that paying for transgender health care would cost the military too much, suggesting that the military could cut the fat in its budget by taking money away from service members' erectile dysfunction treatment.

Duckworth compared the $5.6 million the Defense Department (DOD) spent in 2016 on transgender health care to the $41 million DOD spent on Viagra and $84 million spent on erectile dysfunction.

She's pointing out what is obvious to most of us, and that's that the cost of transgender surgery and related medical costs probably isn't that much of the whole defense budget. There are probably plenty of defense department cost cutting measures that could be made with only a small minority feeling it.

But by making the comparison, she planted a question in a lot of our minds. Why is the DOD spending so much on Viagra? Are our military men having a hard time getting it up? These are young men in their primes. And most are probably in pretty good shape compared with the rest of us. So why are they having trouble below the belt?

There's a job for the VA is they run out of things to do.

Editors' notes: Do they call it PTSD -- Post traumatic soft d___? HA HA! Robo-ed. | Cut that out! Sleepless.

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2:59 PM 8/7/2017

This Thanksgiving let's thank the garbage men of America

That's not a joke. We generate tons of garbage, and hauling it away is a dirty job. But someone has to do it.

I know. I worked that job one summer during high school. And back in the day, a garbage man rode the side of a truck, lifted, and dumped trash cans into the truck by hand. Today, mechanical arms do the heavy lifting as the truck rolls down the alley, picks up a dumpster and empties it in the truck. The typical garbage man sits in the truck all day. But that's OK. He still has to endure the tedium, and he still has to maintain the schedule. Then there's the health risk of sitting all day that we hear about.

So as we approach the Thanksgiving holidays there will be a lag in the garbage pick-up, and those neighborhoods where dumpster hogs like to load up the dumpsters with empty boxes and tree limbs will experience overflowing trash bins. So let's give thanks to those people who haul it off, the garbage men.

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Meanwhile, here in Midland, Texas, Mayor Morales recently told an audience that the vehicle manufacturers no longer make the side loading garbage trucks currently in use in the city. Eventually, the city will begin purchasing front loading trucks.

Then he dropped the bomb shell: Neighborhood dumpsters will have to be moved from the alleys to the front. Whoa! They recently went all out to get an ordinance against parking cars in yards. Now they want to put garbage dumpsters in front yards. Let the irony begin.

Submerged plumber -- this is why men make more money than women

This photo of the plumber appeared on Fox News this morning, and Mike Rowe was cited as having given it legs, so to speak.

The story is that a woman had a water leak, and to fix it the plumber had to get his hands on it. So down he went. The photo is quite compelling.

But what it did for me was remind me why men make more money than women. Oh yeah, there are women out there who would do that, but by and large most of the people who get down and dirty in their work are men. And they get paid for doing it.

Most women, on the other hand, will opt for the clean jobs. Often those jobs don't pay as much, but that doesn't stop many of them from trying to take the aggregate of men's wages, compare them with the aggregate of women's wages, and play the income inequality card.

For Mark J. Perry's comprehensive discussion of why they are wrong, see No surprise here: New study finds gender differences in preferences for higher earnings vs. other job attributes. Here's his intro:

Who-d a Thunk It? Men and women display differences in preferences when it comes to job attributes and career choices?

I think we knew that already, but that’s the main conclusion of some interesting new research that investigates gender differences in preferences for higher monetary earnings versus other non-wage job attributes by estimating how men and women differ in their “willingness-to-pay” with lower earnings for: a) more job security, b) greater workplace hours flexibility, and c) higher future earnings potential. Not surprisingly, women favor job security and more flexible, family-friendly workplaces over earnings, and men place a higher priority on earnings over other job attributes.

Yes, we did know that. But that never stopped the crowd who believes equality trumps everything else. Meanwhile it's a man who is half submerged in a muddy hole.

What it takes to be a hero

Donald Trump was in the news the other day -- yeah, I know, he's in the news every day. But that time it was about calling out John McCain for being a "hero" because he was a POW. If McCain really did decline an offer of early release then he probably qualifies. Meanwhile, Trump is setting himself up as kingmaker in the 2016 presidential election. But that's another story.

There's a good piece on what it takes to be a hero at American Spectator by Mark Coppenger titled The Hero as Supererogator. Being a hero boils down to this:

How can it apply without dissent to a passerby, an insurance salesman or greengrocer, who wades out into hip-deep rushing water to pull a woman from a stalled car, but not so readily apply to a soldier headed out on his eleventh motor patrol in an Afghan district known for its IEDs? The former is far more likely to get a medal or certificate, even though the danger is real for them both. So what’s the difference?

It seems to me that it depends upon the level of sacrifice or strenuous achievement one manages “above and beyond one’s call to duty” — supererogation. The citizen happening upon the trapped driver has no generally accepted duty to put himself in harm’s way to effect the rescue. The “grunt” who pulls his buddy from a burning Humvee or MRAP does.

Around these parts we have "unsung heroes." They don't pull drowning children from raging rivers or run into blazing infernos to rescue an incapacitated citizen. They simply do things to help us all live better lives. They help serve lunch at a cancer center. They work with hospice patients. They help place abandoned pets. They have no duty to do the things they do, but they do it anyway. And there will be no medals awarded. They remain unsung.

On the other hand, there are some real heroes amonst us -- people who really have rescued drowning children or incapacitated citizens. More power to them. Keep up the good work.

Editor's note: So, what have you ever done to be a hero? --Robo-ed.  {|} The most heroic thing I've done is spend about three hours scraping dried feces off the bathroom floor in an elderly person's home, because even though there was a 2,000 gallon a day leak, plumbers refused to come in to fix it. --Sleepless. {|} Ha! Not exactly like throwing yourself on a live grenade. Is it? --Robo-ed. {|} Well, no one else would do it. --Sleepless.

Let's celebrate San Jacinto Day while we still can

Today, April 21, is known by most Texans as San Jacinto Day because it marks the date in 1836 when Sam Houston led the Texans against Santa Anna's troops. Yada, yada, yada -- Texas became a sovereign nation.

The Texas Historical Association has a nice description of the battle. To wit:

Houston disposed his forces in battle order about 3:30 in the afternoon while all was quiet on the Mexican side during the afternoon siesta. The Texans' movements were screened by trees and the rising ground, and evidently Santa Anna had no lookouts posted. The battle line was formed with Edward Burleson's regiment in the center, Sherman's on the left wing, the artillery under George W. Hockley on Burleson's right, the infantry under Henry Millard on the right of the artillery, and the cavalry under Lamar on the extreme right. The Twin Sisters were wheeled into position, and the whole line, led by Sherman's men, sprang forward on the run with the cry, "Remember the Alamo!" "Remember Goliad!" The battle lasted but eighteen minutes. According to Houston's official report, the casualties were 630 Mexicans killed and 730 taken prisoner. Against this, only nine of the 910 Texans were killed or mortally wounded and thirty were wounded less seriously. Houston's ankle was shattered by a rifle ball. The Texans captured a large supply of muskets, pistols, sabers, mules, horses, provisions, clothing, tents, and $12,000 in silver. Santa Anna disappeared during the battle and search parties were sent out on the morning of the 22. The party consisted of James A. Sylvester, Washington H. Secrest, Sion R. Bostick, and a Mr. Cole discovered Santa Anna hiding in the grass. He was dirty and wet and was dressed as a common soldier. The search party did not recognize him until he was addressed as "el presidente" by other Mexican prisoners.

And note this inscription at the San Jacinto Monument:

Measured by its results, San Jacinto was one of the decisive battles of the world. The freedom of Texas from Mexico won here led to annexation and to the Mexican War, resulting in the acquisition by the United States of the states of Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, California, Utah, and parts of Colorado, Wyoming, Kansas, and Oklahoma. Almost one-third of the present area of the American nation, nearly a million square miles of territory, changed sovereignty.

There were some very heroic characters who helped win the independence, but you don't need me to retell the legends about them. Needless to say, Texans are very proud of those guys and what they accomplished.

Remember the Alamo! Remember Goliad!

P.S. There's a lesson in all this. How does that old saying go? Those who don't remember the past are condemned to repeat it? The Mexicans opened their borders and welcomed the North Americans. But then there were too many, and they wouldn't do what they were told. Along comes another old saying: Open your borders and welcome your future rulers.

Viagra for our fighting men

As someone who honors veterans and revers active duty service men and women, I find this headline a little depressing. To wit: Pentagon has spent $1.2 MILLION on erectile dysfunction pills for the troops, including $504,000 on Viagra last year alone.

The way the drugs are advertised it would seem safe to assume that erectile dysfunction is an old guy problem. Apparently not. If the hard bodies of the U.S. military need the drug then the problem may be more wide spread.

However, it's probably safe to assume that the misfits who fill the ranks of ISIS and al Qaeda don't get the drug. Hmm. Maybe their own limp d**ks are why they are drawn to some artificial system of inflated importance anyway.

Modern internet romance -- with blackmail

Graham Cluley's headline explains it all so succinctly: Boy meets girl. Girl strips on webcam. Tells boy to do the same. Girl blackmails boy. Who could resist clicking on that one?

Alternate ending: Boy kept gigantic prosthesis handy for webcam stripping. Told girl, go ahead and post it. Boy inundated with romantic offers.

National Tradesman Day -- 9/21/12

Today is National Tradesman Day.  And here's a tool company tribute to help get it going.

I've scheduled a Roto-Rooter visit, but you can celebrate in your own way.

Newspaper ad -- Sorry for the innuendo

George Brownridge pleased 15 women for an entire day, and they thanked him with this ad.

George must have been exhausted, too.

However, apparently he had only arranged a shopping trip for those ladies, and they wanted to thank him publicly. But wouldn't you know it, some took it the wrong way. And an apology ad resulted.

From Daily Mail. Via Guy Code via Linkiest.

Those three guys in the Aurora theater raised the bar for gender equality

Apparently a controversy erupted after a tweet by James Taranto about the three men at the Aurora, Colorado, movie theater massacre who sacrificed their lives to save their girlfriends.  Taranto said, "I hope the girls whose boyfriends died to save them were worthy of the sacrifice."

So was he too unsympathetic? Many thought so and hammered him with their own tweets. He responded with a reasonable explanation:

What makes the stories of Jansen Young, Samantha Yowler and Amanda Lindgren especially poignant is that their boyfriends' dying acts simultaneously dealt them an unfathomable loss and gave them an invaluable gift--a gift of life. ...

These three women owe their lives to their men. That debt can never be repaid in kind, because life is for the living and cannot be returned to the dead. The closest they can come to redeeming it is to use the gift of their survival well--to live good, full, happy lives.

A few times a year we hear feminists complain that women are underpaid in comparison to men. These claims generally fall short of persuasion when we acknowledge the gender differences in job danger, hours worked or physical demand.

Forget that. Those brave men at the Century 16 theater set a new standard. We'll have genuine gender equality when there are an equal number of women sacrificing their lives so that men might live.

Meanwhile, if they aren't doing it already, our military trainers need to figure out a politically correct way to get males to unlearn any instinct they might have to save females at the expense of others or the mission.

Today in history -- assassination attempt on Andrew Jackson

This could be the first presidential assassination attempt conspiracy theory in American History. The conventional wisdom was that Richard Lawrence was a crazy lone gunman when he tried to shoot President Andrew Jackson on January 30, 1835. But conspiracy theorists, allegedly including President Jackson himself, thought Mr. Lawrence had been hired by political opponents.

As the story goes, Mr. Lawrence tried to ambush President Jackson as he emerged from funeral, but his gun misfired. Mr. Lawrence got the business end of 67 year old Jackson's cane as Lawrence's backup gun misfired as well. And who came to Jackson's aid? None other than the king of the wild frontier, Davy Crockett, who was serving as a Representative from Tennessee at the time.  More here, here, here and here.

What a history this country has. They should make a movie.

Via Politico.com via Reddit.com.