Expat Texan

Actually, he swims with the biggest of all fishes.

This is a whale shark - a huge, unflappable plankton eater that scours the world’s warmer oceans.

Did I mention that they were huge?  Note the tiny (adult sized human), swimming beside this guy as he feeds.  He is in the process of opening his mouth to filter - and the dark spots you see on either side are sensitive olfactory organs used to help him find plankton.

Besides being huge, they seem to carry their own biosystem with them.  That silvery halo in front of the whale shark is made up of thousands of fish that travel along with him. (Click the photo to open the full size image to get a better idea about the fish support group).

A little better view of the fishy entourage.  Like I said, there were millions of the little buggers following the whale shark around.  The underwater photos were taken with a little Pentax Optio W10 camera (now replaced by the W30 and W60 models).  Not bad for a little digital camera you throw in your travel bag for convenience.

These guys are described as docile - but we still worried about harrowing animals for our own amusement while causing them distress.  However, they really don’t seem to care - they just lazily turn away from you if you get too close, and continue feeding.  They are massive and powerful - and could skitter away in an instant if they wanted.  But they don’t - instead just swimming in circles feeding.  After swimming with the whale sharks, we came home and watched the sun set.

It was a GOOD day.

Hiding on a small island off of the Yucatan peninsula named Isla Holbox.  It is quiet, secluded, and meant to be a real private getaway.  Unfortunately, much of the island was destroyed by hurricane Wilma 3 years ago - and many of the natives have left, unable/unwilling to rebuld.  You see empty lots everywhere you go - with names staked out to identify the previous owners.  Se vende signs are everywhere.  We are staying in a small hotel call Casa Sandra - very nice and romantic - it’s our 20th wedding anniversary, and we wanted to be away from the frantic pace that defines our lives most of the time.

Tarpon, tequila, and seclusion - a perfect trifecta.  I’ll be back - sometime, I suppose.

Read the comments.

Professional victim wants to kick John Wheelers ass for being so racially insensitive.

I guess even politically correct idiocy comes in a Texas size, as well.

Examining the cause of ALL the world’s ills.

Prior to July 4, 1776, not a single person in the world starved, got sick, worked hard for a living, or experienced any pain and anxiety. No one had ever been oppressed or unfairly exploited because the oppressive and unfair American system had not yet been created.

Since the beginning of time employment had been equally guaranteed to anyone who cared to work, along with an equal pay of exactly $1,000 a week regardless of outcome, occupation, or the geographical area. All work was equally pleasant and enjoyable. Those who chose not to work also received $1,000 a week in unemployment compensation and Union benefits. Other guaranteed people’s rights included the right to housing and free universal health care, as well as the right to 100% literacy through federally funded public education.

Problem is, I can’t tell if it’s a parody……..

Well, at least progressive leftist people.

Hating George W. Bush is not only dull and unoriginal, but it shows a complete lack of understanding of the world in which we live in.

You want liberty but you don’t want to defend it… right.

Well, you should be.  Just not the bogus global warming crap Hansen, Gore, and others have been hysterically heralding for years.  Global warming is survivable.  Global cooling could kill millions - and cause species extinctions.

According to Wilson, the result is a strong, rapid pulse of global cooling, “On each occasion that the Sun has done this in the past the World’s mean temperature has dropped by ~ 1 - 2 C.”

A 2 C drop would be twice as large as all the warming the earth has experienced since the start of the industrial era, and would be significant enough to impact global agriculture output.

Earlier this year, astronomers from around the world noted solar activity was suspiciously low; some began predicting global cooling at that time. Since then, activity has remained far below average, with it now being over two months since a single sunspot has appeared on the surface of the sun.

The best part of the article?

In May, a team of German climatologists published research stating that, due to “natural effects”, global warming would halt for up to 15 years.

See how that works - when there is a warming trend, it’s all man-made and catastrophic.  When there’s cooling, which is far, far, far more dangerous - it’s just “natural effects”, nothing to be worried about at all.

And what the hell is this guy thinking?  Maybe he hasn’t heard about the awesomeness of Al Gore, being that he’s in Russia.

“On the basis of our [solar emission] research, we developed a scenario of a global cooling of the Earth’s climate by the middle of this century and the beginning of a regular 200-year-long cycle of the climate’s global warming at the start of the 22nd century,” said the head of the space research sector of the Russian Academy of Sciences’ astronomical observatory.

Khabibullo Abdusamatov said he and his colleagues had concluded that a period of global cooling similar to one seen in the late 17th century - when canals froze in the Netherlands and people had to leave their dwellings in Greenland - could start in 2012-2015 and reach its peak in 2055-2060.

He said he believed the future climate change would have very serious consequences and that authorities should start preparing for them today because “climate cooling is connected with changing temperatures, especially for northern countries.”

“The Kyoto initiatives to save the planet from the greenhouse effect should be put off until better times,” he said, referring to an international treaty on climate change targeting greenhouse gas emissions.

“The global temperature maximum has been reached on Earth, and Earth’s global temperature will decline to a climatic minimum even without the Kyoto protocol,” Abdusamatov said. (emphasis mine-expat)

Blasphemy!

Via Small Dead Animals

Because these people sure as hell won’t.  While the West fritters away time worrying about institutional racism, embracing multiculturalism to the detriment of its own laws and values, and tries very, very hard to deny that there is a problem - our ideological enemies have parties to remember the murderers martyrs.

‘During the last two years there was a big celebration and people in the area have accepted his grave as a shrine of a big saint. That is why this time we told his uncle to avoid a big celebration.’

But despite police requests, some villagers insisted on laying flowers at Tanweer’s grave.

One villager was reported as saying: ‘The party is kept secret from people outside the village but everyone knows it happens every year.’

In Canada - you get charged with thought crimes and hate speech if you speak out against these terroristic acts and name religions involved.  In Pakistan, your family hands out sweets and holds a party to celebrate your “martyrdom”, achieved while murdering innocent people whose only crime was to be on the wrong train at the wrong time.

At least the families of the true victims realize the nature of the enemy - knowledge bought with the senseless death of a loved one.

His daughter Lisa added: ‘It’s really upsetting. At a time when Muslim people are trying to gain people’s respect and put an end to prejudice, it doesn’t paint them in a positive light.

Ohhhhh, careful there, Lisa.  Let’s not forget to think about “root causes”, and the fact that everything bad that happens to Westerners is our own fault.  Please take a moment to readjust your moral equivalence meter, and only comment when you have something positive to say about a religiously motivated murder of innocent civilians.  Something like “Of course, it’s not these boys fault - they come from disadvantaged households full of frustration and disillusionment, and the UK should have been more sensitive and responsive to their needs.  It’s really not surprising that they blew themselves up grew angry enough to take drastic action to draw attention to their horrible plight.  Hopefully the Government will take the proper steps to ensure that another young man is not forced to take such desperate action”.

Speaking of watching what you say:

Stacey Beer, who lost her brother Phil, 22, in the King’s Cross explosion, said: ‘It’s disgusting. I really can’t believe it, although nothing surprises me any more about these people.’

“These People”?  Good thing Stacey doesn’t live in Canada - she would probably have to apologize to the martyr’s family, and pay them restitution for violating their basic human right of not ever being offended.  Of course, being offended by the act of commuters being blown up by fanatics isn’t covered by the Basic Human Right of Never Being Offended, as long as the person doing the ’sploding is a member of a multiculturally protected group.

Brave Mujahadin

Murdering Bastard

There.  I fixed the caption.

I have a few questions I would like to ask him about Saddam and yellowcake uranium.

The last major remnant of Saddam Hussein’s nuclear program - a huge stockpile of concentrated natural uranium - reached a Canadian port Saturday to complete a secret U.S. operation that included a two-week airlift from Baghdad and a ship voyage crossing two oceans.

While we’re asking Joe questions, we might have a few for Valerie as well.

‘Cause it’s true.

Or at least it WOULD be funny, if not for the fact that an international news organization has dropped all pretense of objectivity in a quest to be sure their preferred candidate is elected in November.

Background here.