Get ready to get scrooged.

In case ye socks ever doubted the fact that The ObamaNation is completely out-of-step with the real concerns of the American people, I offer you the following poll results.

53% of the American people put the economy & jobs at the top of the national priority list.

Yet, the current occupant of the White House is spending most of his time pimping his global redistribution of wealth plan as THE answer to global warming (an issue only 2% of us put atop said priority list).

And, his minions in Congress are ramming thru their stealth scare legislation in the middle of a blizzard, thumbing their noses at the typical holiday recess.

Only 10% of us put health care reform atop the national agenda. Even that is a misnomer. Health care in this country is the best to be found anywhere in the world. Access to it, and affordability are the things that really need to be reformed. And, you don't accomplish that by socializing the delivery mechanisms.

Yet, this is the path we are on. Printing up more greenbacks to hand out to developing countries so they will halt development in the Quixotic pursuit of global cooling. And, the double-whammy, we're poised to hand over 1/6 of our national economy to the DC beltway brain trust.

Yeah, those things will kickstart the economy and put people back to work.

Hope and change?!

12 Action Steps to Stop Abusing Our Planet

Remember, the first great activist for conservation was a Republican president by the name of Theodore Roosevelt. Mike Huckabee is carrying on the tradition, but with the modern eye on achieving energy independence. Here are his suggestions from his recent book "From Hope to Higher Ground":

1. Never litter!

2. Report littering to your state's litter hotline. If your state doesn't have a hotline, advocate for one.

3. Conserve gas by combining trips to do errands . . . better, yet, walk or ride a boke.

4. Carpool to work or school.

5. Walk or bike whenever you can.

6. Turn off lights and appliances when not in use.

7. Have an energy audit of your home.

8. Spend time outdoors hiking, bird-watching, hunting, or fishing.

9. Keep your car maintained and serviced for better fuel efficiency.

10. Take your family camping.

11. Recycle paper, glass, plastic, and aluminum.

12. Learn more about renewable fuel sources and consider energy-efficient appliances and construction processes.

Killer aps, Dr. Cai!

Dr. Yang Cai, director of the Ambient Intelligence Lab at Carnegie Mellon University, has not only developed some really cool 3D scan technology but also come up with some great ideas for applying it to real-world use.

One day, it will be used to scan human tongues to check for signs of illness. One day, it will be used to scan ocean surfaces to look for possible tsunami threats. But, today, it is already being used in a field that is of great interest to yours truly: genealogy.

How many times have you been wandering thru an old cemetery hunting your ancestors' final resting place only to run across a tombstone that has been rendered completely illegible after the ravages of time?

Not often? Well, then you're not a dedicated root-digger.

Anyway, thanks to Dr. Cai's 3D technology, old stones can now be scanned and their inscriptions deciphered. He's already applied it with great success to some real world stones found in the 200 year old St. Luke's Episcopal Cemetery in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Check out the complete story at:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7024672.stm

Lake Proctor Wilderness Area

Last night, I joined the Florida Trail Association for another of their great "night hikes."

This time, we traipsed thru the Lake Proctor Wilderness Area. For you socks who live in Central Florida, it's just a hop, skip, and a jump from Oviedo in Seminole County. And, it's definitely worth all the hopping, skipping, and jumping to get there--especially if you've never experienced the "real Florida."

The LPWA is a 475-acre preserve on the shores of Lake Proctor. It has about 6 miles of hiking trails. And, no, yours truly did not follow them all last night. Just a good portion of them. But, give me a break, it was DARK out there!!

We were accompanied by Dr. Patti Smith, an ecology professor at Valencia Community College, who was able to point out all the different ecosystems as we made our way thru the wilderness: piney woods, sand hills, bayhead swamps, oak hammock, etc. She did NOT have to point out all the goldenrod blossoms. They were everywhere, it seemed.

Dr. Smith did teach me how to spot the two different types of bay trees that grow in these parts. Their sweet aroma made our hike all the more enjoyable. She also taught us how to distinguish three different types of pine trees. I mean, I knew there were different species, but now I know why they're different!

Anyway, it was a fun get-back-to-nature evening, and I'm looking forward to more as the temperatures around here abate a little.

But, for now, I've got some serious college football watching to do.

Go Gators!