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Month: January 2010

Protestors

click here for larger imageThousands gathered here yesterday to protest  the government’s position on Global Warming.

Their spokesman Frosty, the well known TV personality, was quoted as saying “We’ll continue this protest until the UN passes a binding resolution banning outdoor temperatures above 32° F (0° C).”

When asked about sources of funding for their cause, Frosty stated that there were a number of “deep-pocketed” supporters, including Santa Claus, Incorporated.  He also noted that the renowned Professor Hinkle is leading a research group dedicated to finding a solution for raising the temperature at which all water, including salt water, freezes.

State of the Union

click here to see larger imageI was going to publish the entire transcript of the speech here,  but decided this would be a much easier read. 

A blogs-eye view of the President’s State of the Union address (from Washington Post, Thursday, 28 January 2010).

Controversy, Year 37

Yesterday marked the 37th anniversary of Roe v. Wade.  Here in the Washington, DC area the day was marked by public demonstrations by pro-Roe and anti-Roe forces.  And, as always,  it garnered a large share of local news media coverage, both in print and on TV.  I assume the same was true for other parts of the country.

Suburban Renewal

Most of the homes in our neighborhood were built between 1957 and 1961.  Some were all brick and some were a combination of brick and asbestos shingles.  Over the years most have had the asbestos shingles replaced by aluminum or vinyl siding.  Until a couple of weeks ago, there was one remaining house in the neighborhood with the original asbestos siding.  The green shingles on the front are the originals.click to see larger image

And here is what the house looks like now that it has been covered with new vinyl siding.

click here to see larger image 

One of the other distinctive features of these mid-20th century houses was the pink and blue tile in the bathrooms.  Most of that has been replaced over the years but there are still a few around with the original pink and blue decor.

And another piece of trivia about these houses is that the two-by-four lumber used for framing actually measures 2-inches by 4-inches, rather than today’s 1.5-inch by 3.5-inch “two-by-four” wannabes!

New Year, New Look

Not only a new year, but also a new decade.  To celebrate HalfVast.com making it through the last 10 years, we’ve pimped it up a bit with a new look.  In terms of Internet time, the previous HalfVast theme was starting to look a bit dated, so we went looking for a new one that would give us a more contemporary look.  We liked this one we found at WOO Themes.  We hope you will  like it too.

The theme we replaced is shown below.  It was in use here from August 2006 through December 2009.

Old theme