frankilin roosevelt

It's not about being liberal or conservative anymore y'all. That is a hype offered by the fascist whores who want to confuse the people with lies while they turn this country into an aristocratic police state. Some people will say anything to attain power and money. There is no such thing as the Liberal Media, but the Corporate media is very real.


Check out my old  Voice of the People page.


Gino Napoli
San Francisco, California
High School Math Teacher

jonsdarc@mindspring.com




Loyalty without truth
is a trail to tyranny.

a middle-aged
George Washington



ARCHIVES
1664 POSTS
LATEST ITEM

March 2024
February 2024
January 2024
December 2023
November 2023
October 2023
August 2023
July 2023
June 2023
April 2023
March 2023
February 2023
January 2023
December 2022
November 2022
October 2022
September 2022
August 2022
July 2022
May 2022
April 2022
February 2022
January 2022
November 2021
October 2021
September 2021
August 2021
July 2021
June 2021
May 2021
April 2021
March 2021
February 2021
January 2021
November 2020
October 2020
September 2020
August 2020
July 2020
June 2020
May 2020
April 2020
March 2020
February 2020
January 2020
December 2019
November 2019
October 2019
September 2019
August 2019
July 2019
June 2019
May 2019
April 2019
March 2019
February 2019
January 2019
December 2018
November 2018
October 2018
August 2018
July 2018
June 2018
May 2018
April 2018
December 2017
November 2017
October 2017
September 2017
June 2017
May 2017
April 2017
March 2017
February 2017
January 2017
December 2016
November 2016
September 2016
August 2016
May 2015
March 2015
February 2015
January 2015
December 2014
September 2014
August 2014
May 2014
March 2014
December 2013
November 2013
October 2013
August 2013
July 2013
June 2013
May 2013
April 2013
March 2013
February 2013
January 2013
December 2012
November 2012
October 2012
August 2012
July 2012
April 2012
March 2012
January 2012
December 2011
November 2011
October 2011
August 2011
July 2011
June 2011
January 2011
December 2010
November 2010
October 2010
August 2010
July 2010
March 2010
January 2010
December 2009
November 2009
August 2009
July 2009
March 2009
February 2009
January 2009
December 2008
November 2008
October 2008
September 2008
August 2008
July 2008
June 2008
May 2008
April 2008
March 2008
February 2008
January 2008
December 2007
November 2007
October 2007
September 2007
August 2007
July 2007
June 2007
May 2007
April 2007
February 2007
January 2007
December 2006
November 2006
October 2006
September 2006
August 2006
June 2006
April 2006
March 2006
February 2006
January 2006
December 2005
November 2005
October 2005
September 2005
August 2005
June 2005
May 2005
March 2005
February 2005
January 2005
December 2004
November 2004
October 2004
September 2004
August 2004

Wednesday, 17 December 2014 at 0h 52m 24s

Winter Storm #3

Winter Strom #3 is packing some rain, but it drizzles and stops for 15 minutes and then picks up tempo and rains for 15 minutes, repeat. Notice the long North-South cloud tail.



This is typical winter storm formation on the west coast. A weather system "Low" spins counter clockwise and what happens is one of the tails of the "spin" winds up going South to North into the California coastline. West coast weather is a series of spinning bands of water, unlike the East coast. The North-South tail brings the rain and dumps it all over California while it moves Northward into the coast. Then it spreads out a little bit over the valley and slams snow into the Sierra Nevada mountain range. That snow is the water supply of the entire California population (much like Lebanon -- another arid environment that depends on winter storms bringing snow to the mountains just off the coastline.)

Right now (according to the California Department of Water Resources ) the snow pack is about 50% of normal for this time of year, but still only about 12% of the April 1st average. Rain disappears in California after April until November, with rare exception. So these last 3 winter storms are a big help in easing the drought, but California is far from out of danger. We need about 3 or 4 more winter storms to get even close to 75% of the April 1st average.

Let's cross our fingers. We were dangerously close this last summer from water rationing.


Wednesday, 17 December 2014 at 0h 37m 53s

Immigrants next door you say ? Really?

This says it all -- despite not mentioning Native American Indians.


Friday, 12 December 2014 at 2h 51m 24s

The current weather

This is the second winter storm actually. Here is a picture at 6:25 pacific time.



It's been raining steadily all day since 6 am. It's now 6 pm. It is still raining. The wind is not as bad as it has been in past winter storms, but the rain is intense and steady. I cannot recall a winter storm that had so much rain as this one. We probably got 6 inches or more in a 12 hour time frame.


Thursday, 11 December 2014 at 23h 52m 24s

Poem

It's your bad attitude

You have to find a way you have to be the one that says the right things you have to listen when the time comes you have be the one that steps aside lets people go down their path and then be there without judgement if per chance people ask you for advice. Don't tell them what they want to hear although that's really what most people want when they ask for advice they want you to reinforce their concrete mind with soft words that massage the cracks and the imperfections the insecurities the uncertainties the ambivalence about the great unknown.

But ... You should however do just the opposite. You should just tell it like it is state the facts explain your point of view and let the words fall where they may pull apart the crevaces in the paradigm throw the crystal mirage on the floor and let the pieces shatter because there is no sanctuary in a fragile ghost of larceny in which the theft is of the true self the potential in all humanity the possibility of something better something more sustainable and long lasting than the temporary soothing of an irrational artifice.

So step aside while the fools trip over themselves in utter stupidity. Don't laugh have empathy with your fellow humans because after all other people are just like you. They do stupid things sometimes. They make mistakes. Sometimes they got a lot on their mind and yea well sorry shit just happens.

Don't go looking for blame because the constellation of reasons for why things happened is beyond your mortal capacity to fathom in the moment. Maybe one day in the future. Maybe. Maybe you might understand how things just turned into crap but right now right now you are filled with emotion and your mind can't make sense of all the things you think are evidence because actually you are just focusing on whatever invigorates your emotion and you can't see anything else. You are in no shape to be an imperfect observer of all events and details. So calm down. Take a deep breath. Step back and see the bigger picture.


Tuesday, 30 September 2014 at 1h 50m 8s

Nawlins Napsters Wins --- 8 years in a row.

The time has come for me to brag about my fantasy baseball prowess. A small consolation for my tiny little ego. (Yea, right.)


The second league was much more difficult. Only in September did I begin to separate from the pack -- thanks to Jacob DeGrom, Drew Storen, Carl Crawford, Starling Marte, Jorge Soler, and Wilmer Flores.

Let league number one be a testiment to the insignificance of batting average in the modern era. I was last in batting average but still beat the living crap pants off of everyone in the league. Honestly, I'm a little surprised myself, but that's what happened.

And please take notice, you win with pitching.


Wednesday, 27 August 2014 at 2h 41m 12s

Thought of the Day

Greed always undermines the essence or means of existence that enabled wealth in the first place. The studios of Hollywood are filled with dramas and plots involving the self-destructive paths of greedy selfish fools who couldn't see past the inner spirals ending in their demise. People lose millions of dollars trying to gamble at twice the odds, just to make more money; or they spread their investments too thin because they want more and don't have the capacity to stop while they are ahead. Relationships often fall apart because one of the two people wants too much of the other person to the point where that other person feels that they are being taken for granted, or that their love is not being being reciprocated. Greed is the entropy that disrupts a normally smooth functioning system -- because some people want more than others, or have to go faster than others, or have to be the first to get attention, etc. , which tilts the dynamics of the system out of balance.

As such, our modern aristocrats can't see past their own small pecuniary interests and narrow circles of influential patrons. The vast majority aren't interested in developing and investing in a nation, but in making more profits, paying less taxes, and getting some sort of recognition. At least this is the net result of their actual aggragate actions, regardless of the convoluted and lexical political language that is often spoken as cosmetics over the actual intention. They assume themselves to be the pillars of the human race, worthy of privileges by their extreme wealth and self-inflated rank. The foundations and non-profits that they fund are really just organizations that pursue their own agendas. They are not really an investment in society but an extension of their ideology which captures more of the social order within its grasping fingers. Basically, they want to buy a moral statement. It's not charity, but an extension of their pride and authority, a moral authority through which they establish a connection in a paternal sense, another branch of the empire beneath their feet.

Taxing societies members and then paying for certain social opportunities (like college, health care, or police ) out of the collected tax dollars is ALWAYS more effective and efficient than out sourcing this collection of money to various wealthy philanthropists. So when the mega-wealthy and their hired spokespersons always praise charities as the antidote to big bad government, they reveal themselves for what they actually mean.


Friday, 15 August 2014 at 2h 21m 35s

Yes I am still alive

Once again, I have gone dark for a few months. Rest assured that I have gone nowhere, but I have been spending time doing a lot of research on nutrition that is totally mind blowing (look up Gary Taubes on youtube) of which I will get around to start blogging about sometime soon. That's why I'm really doing this blog post -- to remind myself to do it.

I've also been going through this whole "Common Core" charade that strikes at the heart of the profession I love, which pains me quite dearly. However, I am a hopeless perpetual optimist. I refuse to get stressed about matters of which I have no control, and insist upon viewing the insanity of transition with a positive view towards finding the beneficial nuggets that exist. After all, even a pile of shit has enough nutrients to sustain flies and various species of bacteria, right?

I haven't been wanting to blog my opinions about "Common Core" for a lot of different reasons; but the number one reason is respect for Terra Nova High School and the wonderful school district for which I work. Because truth-be-told, the district is itself amidst a sea of change outside of its control. They are all good people, and I feel fortunate to work with such dedicated, integrity-filled people. Hence, I have no desire to raise contention and ruckus about matters external to the district's control, because I know parents and students may quite possibly read this blog, and I don't want anyone getting the wrong impression about the place where I absolutely love to be working.

And frankly, teaching is always hard. You don't do this job unless you understand the time you work for 36 weeks. 60 times 36 (2160) is the MINIMUM number of hours per year -- which is more than 40 times 50 (2000) weeks. BY 160 HOURS, OR 4 MORE WEEKS OF 40 HOURS.

(YEA, that's right, teachers work at least 4 more weeks per year than the normal 40 hour per week worker who works for 50 weeks and gets 2 weeks of total vacation -- holidays included)

This is why I detest "experts" who have never taught. They think teaching is something that can be mass-packaged and standardized.

Because it's not. Teaching is getting to know 150+ students every year and being able to somehow create a schedule of events and activities that best meet the needs of every single one of those 150+ students. You can't put that in plastic-wrap in sell it, but oh don't let that stop them from advertizing otherwise and using dramatic cinematography to oversimplify reality and make a selling point -- the purpose of which IS ALWAYS the desire to make money. That's why all the big textbook companies (Pearson especially) developed the common core standards.

I better stop. Peace out.


Thursday, 29 May 2014 at 4h 36m 28s

The Inimitable Vin Scully

Jamie Womack had been in the minor leagues 13 years and just got his first call up to the MLB as a Los Angeles Dodger. He was asked by Vin Scully whether it bothered him. According to Vin Scully, Jamie's response was ...


I didn't put much emphasis on where I wasn't. I worried about where I was.

--Jamie Womack

UPDATE: The kid (well, he is younger than me) comes up to pinch hit. Vin Scully details the events.

Most people do not know his background. He's certainly well put together. He's 6 foot 2 and 220 pounds.... All those years. All those nights waiting and praying to get the phone call. Well let's see what happens.... And a one hoper, right to the glove hand of the first basemen. Well, you can't hit it much harder than that.


Thursday, 22 May 2014 at 23h 41m 34s

Thought of the day

Man will always feel alienated from the environment.

Man took the jungle, the wilderness, the marshlands, and the prairies from the other animals. Mankind altered the environment to suit the needs of the feeding and tbe aggregating of more people. Animals that could be eaten, controlled, or herded were gathered and put in between fences, into pens, and within barns. The other animals were exterminated, one by one, and the effectiveness depended upon the belligerence or protest of the animals in question. Those that were passive remained. Those that were aggressive in their rights, such as tigers, usually lived on the verge of extinction, until the civilization of mankind got to a point where there was no more question as to whom was at the top of the food chain, and then these aggressive species got some sanctimony from humans who wanted to put them in zoos and look at them on Saturday afternoon's while eating popcorn and ice cream with the kids.

Now that mankind has become the creator of the environment, this theft of the Earth by one species has left a void. Yet, the instincts of the homo sapiens have not abated; even if the environment in which we have evolved over millions of years has vastly changed in the last 4,000 years. The theft of the landscape has now inverted, and mankind is now stealing from one another.

Or as Nostradamus once said in a famous prophesy, "...and man will become a man eater."

I heard that line from a movie by Orsen Welles who narrated a film about Nostradamus I saw while in High School. To this day, I still hear the same audio track I hear 30 something years ago.

In fact, I probably repeat myself. I know I've said as much at some point in this blog over the last 12 years.

BTW, yes, I'm finally back after a long absence.


Saturday, 29 March 2014 at 23h 49m 56s

Napster's 2014 MLB Bold Predictions

Here's my bold predictions per team

  • BALTIMORE
    Pitching will fall apart. The bad Ubaldo shows up. Gausman moves to the bullpen and takes over the closer roll.
  • BOSTON
    Injuries ruin a repeat. Sizemore however plays all year.
  • YANKEES
    Beltran gets hurt. Teixiera hits less than 25 homers. Tanaka, Pineda, and Nova all pitch better than CC Sabathia, and the bullpen winds up being very good.
  • TAMPA BAY
    The Rays will win the division. Chris Archer and Will Myers take their game to the next level. Loney does better than last year in the power and RBI department. Desmond Jennings has a good year and steals more than 30 bases.
  • WHITE SOX
    Jose Abreu is the real thing. Marcus Siemen sticks around and excels, eventually replacing Beckham who gets traded. DeAza plays more games than Viciedo. Avisail Garcia hits 20 home runs but strikesout a lot. John Danks has a resurgent year and Quintana earns the 5 year contract with an increased strikeout rate.
  • DETROIT
    The offense takes a step back. Verlander has a lot of bad games. Joe Nathan manages to have one more good season, but it won't be as elite as 2013. Castellanos becomes a solid Third basemen but his best years will begin in 2015.
  • KANSAS CITY
    Yordano walks too many batters and makes too many mistakes. Shields is the only SP who is reliable. Moustakas reaches his potential and hits 30 home runs. Lorenzo Cain has a good year. Butler still hits less than 20 home runs and doesn't crack 90 RBI's.
  • INDIANS
    Division winner. Will have the best pitching in the American League. McCallister has a great year. Masterson is Cy Young worthy. Salazar strikesout more batters than innings pitched. John Axford is a top 10 closer.
  • HOUSTON
    Jared Cosart shows his pitching promise. The bullpen is the worst in baseball. Singleton begins to play regularly and hits more than 15 home runs with a .300 batting average. Jonathan Villar steals 30 bases but will bat 7th, 8th, or 9th most of the year.
  • LA ANGELS
    Weaver is less than effective. Hector Santiago is too erratic. CJ Wilson is their best SP but I think he get's hurt. Hamilton and Pujols will be a lot better than last year, but they won't be in the top two tiers. Kyle Calhoun hits 15 or more homers, steals 20 bases, scores 100 runs with a .280 batting average, and is the lead-off hitter all season.
  • TEXAS
    Winds up in 4th place because their pitching falls apart. Yu Darvish has issues more often than not, but will be awesome for most of the year. Soria becomes a top 10 closer again. Michael Choice becomes the best Texas Outfielder and hits 20 or more home runs.
  • SEATTLE
    Plays better than last year and winds up in 2nd or 3rd place. Farquhar saves more than 10 games. Taijuan wins more than 10 games and has a sub 3.80 era. Roenis Ellis stays in the rotation all year long and does well his first MLB season. Brad Miller hits 2nd all year long and puts up Dustin Pedroia-like numbers. Almonte becomes a pretty good lead-off hitter. Either one (or both) of Corey Hart and Morrison have a resurgent year. Ackley finally shows what everyone thought he could do. Seager is decent and has a repeat of last year.
  • OAKLAND
    Cespedes does better but not quite what everyone hopes for. Lowrie stays healthy again. Coco Crisp however plays less than 120 games because of injuries. Sonny Gray and Kazmir have really good years. Jim Johnson saves more than 45 games again.
  • METS
    The mets are one of the worst teams all year. No pitcher will be fantasy relevant. Poor David Wright goes back to his worst year's.
  • PHILLIES
    The Phillies will show their age. Utley and Howard are injured again. Rollins decline becomes obvious. All pitchers not names Cliff Lee have sub-par years. Papelbon's erratic pitching continues. Daren Ruf and Domonic Brown will hit the most home runs. Asche remains mediocre.
  • BRAVES
    The offense clicks with resurgent years from BJ and Uggla, but Gattis won't play more than 100 games and won't hit more than .240. Andrelton improves his batting average, but doesn't steal more than 10 bases or hit more than 12 home runs. Alex Wood stays in the rotation all year and is their second best SP on the team after Teheran, with Minor ranked 3rd.
  • MIAMI
    Will hit better than last year. Yellich has some bumps, but he shows promise. Stanton hits more than 35 home runs. Saltallamacchia has a better year than a lot pudits think. Eovaldi becomes a worthy pitcher.
  • NATIONALS
    Taylor Jordan makes a run for rookie of the year. Werth has another sub-par year despite last year's promise. The Nats have trouble scoring runs, but their pitching staff is the best in the National League.
  • CUBBIES
    Jose Baez becomes a fixture in the lineup. Ruggiano has a good year, but Schierholz will take a step back. The bullpen is a mess all year long.
  • CARDINALS
    Will take the division again. Wacha competes for the CY YOUNG. Carlos Martinez joins the rotation by June or July and has a run of awesomeness that is breathtaking to behold. Matt Adams becomes the Cardinals first basemen and Allen Craig stays in the outfield. Kolten Wong has a rookie of the year worthy campaign. Carpenter is just as good as last year.
  • PIRATES
    The pitching staff takes a step back. Gerrit Cole has growing pains. Melancon winds up with the closer role at some point. Starling Marte improves and becomes a top 15 outfielder this year. Gregory Polanco impresses when he comes up in May.
  • MILWAUKEE
    The pitching staff falls completely apart. Khris Davis will be okay, but he won't be the player everyone thinks. Ryan Braun hits less than 30 home runs.
  • CINCINNATI
    Jay Bruce will have a career year. Brandon Phillips will too. Todd Frazier finds his groove again. Hamilton steals 80 bases and scores 120 runs with 5 homers, 40 doubles and a .270 batting average.
  • DODGERS
    The outfield crumbles as Kemp, Crawford, and Ethier all suffer bouts with injuries and diminished ability.
  • ROCKIES
    Nolan Arenado begins to show his hitting promise. Car-Go plays more than 140 games.
  • GIANTS
    Madison Bumgarner competes for the Cy Young, but no other Giants pitcher is reliable. Brandon Belt achieves his potential. Mike Morse hits more than 20 home runs. Panda has a resurgent year, but then gets injured again.
  • PADRES
    Will have a very bad year. Everything goes wrong. No one hits more than 20 home runs or gets 100 rbis. Cashner is the only SP who does well and Tyson Ross struggles to find last year's 2nd half success.
  • ARIZONA
    Pollock becomes a good hitting outfielder. Owings competes for rookie of the year. The Arizona pitching staff will be one of the worst, and Archie Bradley won't improve it when he gets called up.

    ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ UPDATE: 22 May 2014
    OMG. I'm laughing so hard at most of these predictions. I'm no better than a Binomial distribution. But for those of you who know math, I guess that means, ... yea, like, duhhhh?




  • GOTO THE NEXT 10 COLUMNS