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Griffith Park Observatory is on the South slope of Mount Hollywood. The visionary dream of Griffith J. Griffith, made the Griffith Observatory possible. “Man’s sense of values ought to be revised. If all mankind could look through that telescope, it would change the world!” , Griffith said. His original plans would include a telescope for all to see, a hall of science and a motion picture theater. The observatory comes with a great history. As you arrive, you are greeted by the likes of Copernicus and a real sundial that was accurate enough to let me know when the observatory would open.

For those of you who need proof that the Earth is rotating, there is a Foucault Pendulum which hangs from a domed roof that is beautifully adorned with paintings of philosophers and scientists. Look up.

During the day, a coelostat can be viewed from three locations. This is used to look at the sun without burning your eyes out. The picture on the left is the dome that houses the coelostat.

There is a dome identical to this on the other side of the building that houses the 12-inch Zeiss refracting telescope. this telescope can be viewed during the day, but they only use it at night for obvious reasons. Should you find yourself unable to climb the stairs to either scope, CCTV is provided.

There are two levels underneath the observatory that have been a recent addition. There you can view scale models of the planets (even Pluto) and find out how much you weigh on each, see meteors and discover the solar system. A seismograph, used to measure earthquakes, is on display for you to play with.

I will intentionally leave out a few things that you will have to see for yourself. The park is free and offers a great view of Los Angeles. There is also hiking, biking and pets are welcome in some areas. The Griffith Park Observatory is an excellent place to spend the day in Los Angeles.

In this debate; I think that McCain highlighted that he has the same narrow thinking as President Bush. McCain seems to be looking for answers to correct past problems while Obama recognizes the mistakes of this administration and is prepared to correct them or at least not go down the same road again while looking forward to prevent such irresponsible mistakes.

The Bush administration has become so encapsulated in terror and war that they have left everything else by the wayside. We see this in the present state of the economy. McCain defends the bad decisions that have been made, because he was there making them, and even tried pulling heart strings to make a point. Look, we all appreciate the soldiers. They do their job. Nobody wants to see them used unnecessarily. It seems McCain will plow forward with backward thinking. McCain is focused on the same policies that encourage terrorism. When we invade other countries, they hate us. Put yourself in their shoes. McCain is prepared to ignore country leaders who are developing nukes, and generally put Americans in “survival mode” when we could be freaking happy.

Obama seems to have a broader scope of the situation, realizing there is more than one front for the American people to be concerned with.  Though we need to deal with Iraq and terrorism, the suffering economy and natural disasters as they unfold, there are other things that concern the American people that are currently being ignored. I think Obama said it best when he described how children from other countries perceive  the United States of America. It should be the great place in which everyone has a chance to be great. Obamas words encourage me as I think about the future for my children and me. I have never been encouraged by the mumbling, bumbling Bush.

So, if you are a hard core republican, just look back at the past eight years and ask yourself if you are better off today than you were when you were bitching about Clinton. Because, I’d rather have a president that’s getting a little on the side than a war monger. We have been at war the entire time Bush has been president and the cost of that dwarfs the economic mortgage bank crisis we are in now. Wake up People!

I regret to say Obie has passed on. The cause of death, dental floss.

We’ll miss you.

“In an economic recession, I’d rather that in order to get out of this recession, that the people be spending their money, not the government trying to figure out how to spend the people’s money.”

Obie the cat is in bad shape. He is a good cat but he has lately been lethargic, lost about five pounds and generally down. There has been evidence of great illness and so today we made the decision to…

help him. He is in intensive care on an IV and pain meds. If he makes it through the night, he will undergo exploratory surgery to clear an obstruction in his bowels, they think. He ate something that cats aren’t supposed to eat.

News media crowded the vets office in an attempt to get the scoop regarding legal action taken by Lucas for the patented Star Wars name. As Obie rested, he was quoted as saying, “Meow.” On wall street, as the news of Obie’s illness hit the wire, oil went up $2.00 a barrel.

God speed Obie.

It sounds so neat and clean. Like it comes in a pretty little shrink wrapped package.

Where the hell is my bail out package? When ever I screw up; I bail myself out or suffer until I can crawl back up to the surface. My business fails, it just fails. I lose my job, i’m broke.

Banks suckered stupid people in to outrageous home loan terms that they could never afford or pay off, then the banks whine that they are losing money on TOXIC loans and the market crashes, oh my @#&&* hurts.

Fortunately Hopefully, this is the last thing BurscK can screw up before he’s out of office.

Oh, but while America can only react to one thing at a time, people can’t get gas in the South and Texas is kinda messed up. More government oversight, I think not. Not even going to touch on the things that matter like education and starving people. That wouldn’t look good in the face of seven years of war. Damn it.

ps. The only thing that should have EVER been bailed out is my brothers boat. That WAS necessary.