Virginia Fuels Tax Refund

I stumbled onto this at the VA Department of Game and Inland Fisheries website.

"Starting July 1, 2000, gasoline and diesel motor fuel purchased and used in a recreational or pleasure boat or ship is eligible for a complete refund of the Virginia motor fuel tax that was paid. The Virginia tax is 17.5 cents per gallon and 16 cents per gallon for diesel."

Why hasn't the commonwealth been advertising this? Hmm.

This is getting ridiculous!

This morning I read in the paper that the two main pipelines to Virginia start in New Orleans and are shut down. So I decided that this would be a good time to fill up the pickup truck. I drive an V-8 F-150 with a 37 gallon tank. Lately I've had to take a BC Powder before I take it to the gas pump. I ran down the road to the gas station and filled up for $2.55 per gallon. I ran some errands and when I came back by that same gas station 6 hours later, gas was $2.99 per gallon!

We have to stop this. Alternative fuel sources are still a ways off and we need to encourage their growth. Hydrogen sounds great but I bet the machines that extract the hydrogen run off of diesel. The Canadians have several offshore oil platforms in the Grand Banks of the North Atlantic. Do we have any such operations on our East Coast? Negative! It's illegal! That's crap.

Also, why do we have so many refinery eggs in the Gulf of Mexico basket? No refineries built in 25 years is why. Everybody wants a refinery but not in their backyard. It's a vicious circle.

Fantasy Football

I've created a fantasy football league on Yahoo. Here's the link to join. This is not an ultra-serious league, it's just for fun so first-timers are welcome.

The league ID # is 558426 and the password is virginia.

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Linked to Outside the Beltway.

Inside 9/11

I watched Inside 9/11 last night on the National Geographic channel last night and it was very good. I was scared that it was going to become documentary on why we deserved to be attacked. I should have known that National Geographic wouldn't do that. It was a sobering look at the events that led up to the attack. The second half is on tonight at 9:00 Eastern time. They'll be showing the first half at 7:00. I hope that I'll be able to watch it tonight.

Just Asking

How come when a left-leaning independent candidate complains about being left out of televised debates he's portrayed in the press as being whiney but when a right-leaning independent candidate is left out, the press cries out in righteous indignation?

Is it because the first candidate, like Ralph Nader, would drain votes from Democrats and the second candidate, like Russ Potts, would drain votes from Republicans?

Hmm.

Father Jones

Father Jones was in London when the first round of bombings happened. Here's his sermon about that day.

I suggest you read the lectionary for July 17 since he refers to them.

Fuel Prices Online

AAA has a pretty cool site that tracks fuel prices nationwide. It takes the price per gallon from credit card transactions. Check it out here.

Here She Is!

Here's the first picture we had of her.

Book Review

Father Jones reviews the new book by Bishop Spong.

This is cool

Track the popularity of your name over time.

Hat tip to The Spoons Experience.

Welcome Megan

Well, she's finally here. Megan was born on May 5, 2005! I'll put up pictures as soon as I can.

UPDATE: I have lost the host I was using to store my pictures. As soon as I can locate another host, I'll put up pictures of Megan.

Liberalism and Relativism

In his homily Monday morning, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger — a powerful Vatican official from Germany often mentioned as a leading candidate to become the next pope — spoke in unusually blunt terms against "a dictatorship of relativism" — the ideology that there are no absolute truths.

"Having a clear faith, based on the creed of the church, is often labeled today as a fundamentalism," Ratzinger said. "Whereas relativism, which is letting oneself be tossed and 'swept along by every wind of teaching,' looks like the only attitude acceptable to today's standards.

"We are moving toward a dictatorship of relativism which does not recognize anything as for certain and which has as its highest goal one's own ego and one's own desires."

Addition to the Blogroll

The movers are here boxing up all of our stuff. They have left the computer up so I can surf and not go insane with boredom. I did have to navigate through a maze of boxes to get to my desk, oh well. There's an addition to the blog roll. Adventures in Nature is written by Gary Winegar who retired from the Richmond Times Dispatch as their outdoors writer. It must still be in his blood to write though. Check out the blog.

My Apologies

I apologize that the blogging has been non-existant the past few weeks. Things are hectic in the Brown Hound Household. We are preparing for our return to Virginia. The house is sold and we have our temporary lodging arranged. We've had one unsucessful house hunting trip but we're hoping that it'll be easier once we're down there full time.

One humorous note on the home sale. The buyer for our house came yesterday with the home inspector. On the first floor, he made a whole list of little things that needed to be corrected. He continued to add to the list on the second floor. Then, they preceded to the attic, which is not finished, and as they were walking around up there, the buyer mistepped and put his foot through the ceiling in our bedroom. The list of defects magically disappeared.

XM Radio

Well, after months of dithering about it, I finally broke down and ordered an XM Radio. I did find a great deal that I would like to share.

In my Redskins season ticket invoice, there was a flyer from XM Radion for 20% off of the hardware. I went to the website and ordered a Delphi Roady 2 XM Satellite Radio with the home bundle for $69. I found it on
Amazon.com for $139. They had other models available too. The catch is you have to buy three months of subscription for $29.97. Well, I was going to buy that anyway.

So, here's the way to do it. The link is http://xmradio.com/partners and the login code is SKINSXM05 The offer expires 3/31/05. I hope you find it useful.

Coasties being unfair?

Here's a good one. There is a ferry that runs between Catalina Island and Long Beach, California. As part of the post-911 security efforts, the Coast Guard occasionally puts officers on board to make sure no one tries to hi jack the ship. Well, some people aren't happy about it. Here's the best part;

Another woman, a CalState Fullerton student, said she was on her way to school when she was detained.

"I got on the boat ... and some Coast Guard (officers) asked me for my driver's license," she recalled.

The student -- afraid to show her face on camera -- said she was detained for nearly a month and then deported because she was here illegally.

Oh my goodness! She was an illegal alien and got caught. What on earth were those Coasties thinking?

Coast Guard News Roundup

Coast Guard cutter patrols Lake Huron
Crew part of Homeland Security effort
Michigan - (02/11/05)--When you think of Michigan's Great Lakes you think of summers filled with boating or hours spent on warm, sandy beaches.

Report: Trio found in Olaf's wake
(CNN) -- New Zealand and U.S. planes scouring the South Pacific near Samoa have found three people floating in the sea after "super cyclone" Olaf battered the area, rescue services say.

Coast Guard rescues three from Santa Barbara Island
SAN DIEGO - Coast Guard crews from San Diego Saturday helped rescue three people after the 29-foot sailboat they were on ran aground on Santa Barbara Island, officials said.

Coast Guard Rescues 3 Men Near Laguna Vista, Texas
HOUSTON - Three men were plucked from the Gulf of Mexico near Laguna Vista Texas, Tuesday at 7:50 p.m., by a Coast Guard rescue crew from Station South Padre Island (SPI), Texas.

Coast Guard rescues fishermen off N.C. coast
Three fishermen were rescued Saturday morning after their 72-foot boat began taking on water about 18 miles south of Oregon Inlet, the Coast Guard said.

Coast Guard rescues downed pilot from marsh near Savannah
(SAVANNAH) - A pilot from North Carolina is recovering from minor injuries after he ditched his small plane in a marsh in Georgia Sunday.

Coast Guard Rescues Boaters
Two men and a teenager are saved from the Laguna Madre by an alert resident and the Coast Guard.

Coast Guard rescues stranded kayaker near Yaquina Head
A U.S. Coast Guard helicopter crew from the Newport air facility spotted an overturned kayak while on a routine patrol at about 2:30 Sunday afternoon.

A LIFE-AND-DEATH STRUGGLE: Coast Guard team rescues 2 fishermen stranded on ice
Cell phone call from Lake St. Clair tells a desperate story
An evening of ice fishing turned into a life-and-death struggle with the elements Tuesday on Mitchell's Bay in Lake St. Clair, as stranded anglers waited for a Coast Guard helicopter piloted by LTJG Paul LaRoche and LCDR Joe Carroll to hoist them to safety.

Dems and Social Security

Opinion Journal has a great article on why the Democrats are fighting tooth and nail to keep Social Security the way it is. It's written by former Delaware governor Pete DuPont. Here's a taste;

When you increase an individual's wealth, he becomes less dependent on government, and his attitude towards government changes. Socialists can't allow that, for it erodes their fundamental principle that social justice can only be achieved when important segments of the economy are under government control.

You can also see this in the way that each side refers to tax cuts. Those on the left say that the government can't afford to give that money away. The right see it as not taking somebody's hard earned money from them in the first place. In other words, the Democrats think that they have more right to your paycheck than you do.

Carry Me Back to Old Virginia!

Hallelujah! The Coast Guard, in it's infinite wisdom, has agreed to end our exile in Maryland and send us back to Virginia! My bride and I are just so happy about this. Our daughter will be born in Virginia. She's not due to arrive until the middle of May and I report the beginning of April. So much to do! Sell the house, find a house, move and so on!

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Pete, what is the name of that Realtor you were telling me about?

Mr. Behan, when can I join the Old Dominion Blog Alliance?

NHL Reform

A Large Regular thinks back to the XFL and wishes that McMahon of the WWF had taken on the NHL instead. Chris has some interesting ideas. I like this one the best;

Players would get 25% of the revenue off sales of their jerseys. This gives the players incentive to become fan favorites whether they be high scorers, goons or lunch bucket players who win the fans' love with their hard work.

I'm not too sure about this one though;

- Eliminate the rule prohibiting two line passes. Imagine if the NFL tried to outlaw passes over 20-yards? That's basically what the two-line pass rule in hockey does.

I think that would compel weak defenses to just smack the puck out of the zone like when they are penalty killing. Or is icing a different penalty than a two line pass?