One of the first things we get for the Christmas Holiday is a poinsettia or two in pots. This one is currently on the coffee table in the living room of the California residence. Click on the image to enlarge.
SUV and Truck Sales Boom – Again
The tired old “Americans want small cars” meme from the left just ain’t true . . .
From Planet Gore
Another Kind of Green: Profits from SUV Sales Soar
By Henry Payne
Auto sales are roaring back — and so is America’s hunger for trucks.
In an embarrassing trend for President Obama and his media chorus, the rebound of the U.S. car market in November is coupled with a rebound in truck sales, even as Washington elites are trying to mandate smaller cars and persuade the American public that “Americans want small cars.”
The evidence indicates exactly the opposite. With low fuel prices and money in their pockets, consumers are returning to trucks — which now total 53.5 percent of the market, compared with 46.5 percent for cars. Light-truck market share is up 6 percent over 2009 year-end totals, while the sales of hybrid cars have declined from 2.8 to 2.4 percent of the market — even as the Obamedia have plastered the press with declarations that our brave new hybrid world is here.
The trend couldn’t be better timed for GM and Chrysler, who are riding the trucks’ huge profit margins as they climb the post-bankruptcy mountain to profitability (and taxpayer independence).
Please note that FORD did not take the bail-out. That image above just might be my next truck. It’s a Ford F-150 “Super Chief” with a 5.8 liter engine.
Formation of Sun Spot 1130
The latest sunspot (number 1130) formed suddenly over the past two days. The image at the right shows the two day period in time lapse. You can see the spot forming in the top hemisphere just above the solar equator. You can see the full sized video here.
This winter, according to several AGW skeptic blogs and websites, promises to be quite cold. Our experience in Southern California over the last fifteen days is reported to be the record coldest for this period – and it’s not even winter yet.
I guess the lackluster return of solar activity in the solar cycle has contributed to the cold weather. We have written several articles over the past few years that show how the Sun affects global climate. Two important ones are:
In the latter article, I listed some conclusions about the climate change scam:
- The media will print or broadcast sensationalized headlines to sell copy regardless of scientific value
- The media will print or broadcast manipulated science with half-truths and invalid conclusions to damage politicians with whom they do not agree
- Politicians seize on these unverified claims in order to blame their opponents
- Uneducated/uninformed people are as gullible as ever
Unfortunately, even after Climategate, these conclusions still are valid.
Radio Wickenburg
When we’re in the Phoenix/Wickenburg area, we listen to KSWG-FM 96.3 “Real Country” radio. The genre is country and western but the difference between this station and those we have in the Los Angeles area is that KSWG plays both old and new country hits.
While we seldom hear Johnny Cash and Merle Haggard in L.A. it is a regular thing to hear the old classic C&W stars in Wickenburg and Phoenix. They also play many of the current country music hits as long as they’re not that hip hop crap played on the L.A. C&W outlets.
As soon as we cross over the Harcuvar Mountain pass on US 60 in La Paz County, we are within the station’s coverage area. We then tune the SUV radio to 96.3 and enjoy the remaining 60 miles of the drive to our new home town while listening to Real Country.
Hybrid Cooked Baby Back Pork Ribs
These get the term “hybrid’ because of the two methods used to cook the ribs. We slow cook them in the crock pot for several hours and transfer them to the grill for the final basting. Cooked this way, the meat almost literally falls off the bones.
We cut the rack of ribs in half so they can fit in the crock pot. Then they go in a plastic zip bag to marinade overnight. The marinade consists of fruit juices (apple, pineapple, orange) and a home grown BBQ sauce. The orange juice, by the way, came from oranges harvested yesterday from our backyard dwarf navel orange tree.
Damsel’s killer BBQ sauce is a key to this delectable entrée. It is vinegar based with brown sugar, savories (onion,garlic) tomato sauce (I used catchup), mesquite (or hickory) smoke flavoring and your favorite chili powder (cayenne, ancho).
We served the ribs with maple flavored baked beans and broccoli slaw marinated in Damsel’s tangy dressing. The image shows the final grilling stage of cooking. You can click on the image to enlarge it to drooling dimensions.
