UAH Professor Killer Amy Bishop Pleads Guilty

The reader should understand: The cost of trying capital cases – cases in which the penalty is, or may be death – are EXCEEDINGLY more expensive than any other case, simply because of the numerous levels of mandatory appeals. Thus, by pleading guilty, and spending the rest her natural life behind bars – without the possibility of parole, and being given humane healthcare – the District Attorney, Amy Bishop and her defense attorneys have saved Madison County, Huntsville, and the State of Alabama many MILLIONS of tax dollars.

That is true, even given that she may live perhaps another 40 years – though that is highly unlikely, simply because incarceration exacts a physical toll upon a person’s life, shortening it by many years. Estimating a cost of $20,000/year (which includes the total cost of employees to guard & manage the system, cost of operations, etc.), and supposing she lives another 40 years (which is less likely, than not) the total flat-line cost would be $800,000.

A 2004 report entitled “State Prison Expenditures, 2001” by James B. Stephan, Statistician for the Bureau of Justice Statistics, Office of Justice Programs, of the Department of Justice, found that the cost of food and medical expenses, food service & utilities cost per prisoner in Alabama was $1776. Alabama’s Average Annual Operating Cost per prisoner was $8128 – THE lowest of 50 states. Other components of cost – employee cost, salaries, wages, benefits, supplies, maintenance, contractual services, and other aspects of facility operation, etc. – account for nearly 96% of all operating costs. According to the report, of all states, Alabama has the HIGHEST per-prisoner cost of utilities as a percentage of operating expenditure, at 5.7%. Perhaps it’s time to rethink solar, wind and other sources of renewable energy?

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Sep 11, 3:15 PM EDT

Ex-prof pleads guilty to killing Ala. colleagues

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (AP) — An ex-professor pleaded guilty Tuesday to fatally shooting three colleagues and wounding three others at the University of Alabama in Huntsville, court officials said.

Amy Bishop, 47, pleaded guilty to one count of capital murder involving two or more people and three counts of attempted murder. She had earlier pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity.

Amy Bishop pleads guilty to murder and attempted murder in Madison County.

Prosecutors were seeking the death penalty against the Harvard-educated Bishop and it was not immediately clear if they would drop the penalty as part of the plea deal. Sentencing will be after arguments are heard at a hearing on Sept. 24.

Prosecutors say

Global Warming: Greenland may finally become green

Readers may already know of the legend of an irony of naming Greenland “Greenland,” especially since much of that nation is covered by ice or snow. On the other hand, their nearest national neighbor, Iceland, is green. In fact, some say Iceland’s verdancy is exceeded only the Emerald Isle (that’d be Ireland).

Again, Greenland is snowy/icy, while Iceland is green.

But, thanks to that great myth called “global warming,” Greenland may become green!

It seems the mythical fallacy of “global warming” is causing ice to melt in Greenland.

Yeah.

Must be the hot air from the Great Debate over whether or not “Global Warming” is merely a periodic, or even occasional occurrence, or if it is a cyclical, if not long-term trend.

So, here’s that Republican myth again…

You know it, the one that says “there is no global warming.”

Extent of surface melt over Greenland’s ice sheet on July 8 (left) and July 12 (right). Measurements from three satellites showed that on July 8, about 40 percent of the ice sheet had undergone thawing at or near the surface. In just a few days, the melting had dramatically accelerated and an estimated 97 percent of the ice sheet surface had thawed by July 12. In the image, the areas classified as “probable melt” (light pink) correspond to those sites where at least one satellite detected surface melting. The areas classified as “melt” (dark pink) correspond to sites where two or three satellites detected surface melting. The satellites are measuring different physical properties at different scales and are passing over Greenland at different times. As a whole, they provide a picture of an extreme melt event about which scientists are very confident.
Credit: Nicolo E. DiGirolamo, SSAI/NASA GSFC, and Jesse Allen, NASA Earth Observatory

http://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/greenland-melt.html

Yeah… it’s all a myth.

It’s a make-believe fairy tale.

There’s really no such thing as “Global Warming.”

Here.

Have another drink of the “More Tax Cuts with More Military Spending” Kook-Aid.

Then, put your head back into the sand.

You’ll be okay.

Yeah… see, all this is made up.

It’s all Hollywood Special Effects & Photoshop.

Just like the myth that Americans landed on the moon.

Keep it tuned to Faux News!

Just click your heels three times and you’ll be back in Kansas!

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For several days this month, Greenland’s surface ice cover melted over a larger area than at any time in more than 30 years of satellite observations. Nearly the entire ice cover of Greenland,

New fans find that film ain’t dead yet!

It may be on life support, but it’s still hanging on.

The odd thing about it is, that anyone can take a crappy picture, and most do. Lens flares, inaccurate color balance and other “quirky” things about these inferior quality cameras for some reason, endear them to their users.

Go figure.

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Just When You Got Digital Technology, Film Is Back

May 30, 2012, By JENNA WORTHAM

When is the last time you took a photo with an old-school camera — the kind that doesn’t have a wireless connection, needs to be loaded with finicky rolls of film and is too bulky to slide into a back pocket?

A panoramic image captured by one of Lomography’s cameras, the Spinner 360. (Lomography)

Unless you are a professional photographer or an artist, it has probably been a while. Most people have abandoned film cameras for digital models or, more recently, smartphones outfitted with lens accessories and apps like Instagram that make photo-sharing extremely simple.

But film photography is having another moment in the sun, thanks to some hip, quirky companies like Lomography and the Impossible Project, which are resurrecting this seemingly archaic art for

Massive Winter Storm Blasts USA: Satellite pic Feb 01 2011

The original image size is 800×762 pixels, far too large to fit in this space. The photo is linked to the original NOAA source.

I’m gonna’ sleep with one eye open from now on.

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I don’t know how you did it, but…

Mandelbrot fractal pattern

 

You made me love you.

Flickr-ing Connectivity

Is this a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing?

Well dang!

Photography as therapy

The gentleman who owns VocalCoach.com shared with me that photography is “where I get my peace”. His name is Chris, and I met him today while

Flickr: Deepwater Horizon Response’s Photostream

GULF OF MEXICO - Coast Guard Seaman Michael Paluh scans the site of the Deepwater Horizon Response at dawn as the Coast Guard Cutter Resolute patrols nearby July 8, 2010. The Resolute, home-ported in St. Petersburg, Fla., is serving as a search and rescue guard to help support and protect people and ships involved in Deepwater Horizon response efforts to stop the leak and recover oil on the water. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Matthew Belson.

Flickr: Deepwater Horizon Response’s Photostream.

Rainwaters Flood Tennessee

Tennesseans Awash in Floodwaters

Photographs below…