News: 02-02-2008 – Groundhog Day, Al-Qaeda Evil, Outlawing Obesity, and Bird Flu Worries

Originally posted on http://digitaldiatribes.wordpress.com on February 2, 2008.

Well, today is Groundhog Day and I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that Phil saw his shadow. Legend says that this means six more weeks of winter. Ugh. I’m ready fro spring. Not that I actually believe that this little critter knows what he’s talking about, but still…

I don’t really have much else to add on this whole subject. But here’s my post from last year on how important of a day this is to us.

Evil in action. That’s all I can say. Whatever your thoughts about what our role is in Iraq, or whether or not we should have been there in the first place or should still be there now, this story is horrific.

Al-Qaeda, thankfully and hopefully, does not represent the majority of Islam. I do not pretend to know what percentage of Islam is composed of those with their theological and political ideology. What I can unequivocally say is that, whatever that percentage is, they are evil, dangerous, and must be held to account. Any radical mindset that can justify the use of disabled individuals to carry out an attack against non-combatants is nothing but evil. Pure and simple.

Groundhog Day

Originally posted on http://digitaldiatribes.wordpress.com on Feb 2, 2007

There truly is no better holiday than groundhog’s day. It is safe to say that, ever since the final present was opened on Christmas Day, this is the day we’ve all waited for. Forget New Year’s. You don’t wait for a furry little animal to prognosticate on New Year’s.

For 39 years now, I have taken out the lawn chair and set it outside in front of a hole in the ground. There is nothing like the excitement of waiting for the famed woodchuck to hobble out of its hole in 5 degree weather. And the kids just love it!

Unfortunately, for 39 years now, I have actually failed to see “George” (which is what I was prepared to call any groundhog that would have poked it’s cute little head from its underground abode.) But still, the memories will last a lifetime.

I remember that one Groundhog’s Day back in ‘92. Perched in front of that hole with camera in hand for 5 hours, I was embarrassed when a mole scurried out of the little opening in the ground. How shocked it was to see me sitting there like a member of the paparazzi! And how I chuckled when I realized that the hole I had staked out for four years prior to that was not a groundhog den! It was then that I researched the size of the hole a groundhog would make. Apparently I had been vastly underestimating it for some time.

Starting in 1993, then, a new confidence was born in me. So, I recited the age-old passage that would be sure to conjur up the spirit of the four-legged weather forecaster. It was something I read in a Dennis The Menace comic as a kid: How much ground could a groundhog grind if a groundhog could grind ground?

A mere 15 years later, this has not yet worked. And my toes froze this year, so I had to cut my time short. My TV tells me that all the groundhogs of high repute have forecasted an early spring.

Maybe next year, I’ll see for myself. Only 365 days until next February 2!