November 19, 2007
Not Me
Nick explains why I am proud of the fact that, altho I was born in 1950, never in my life have I boomed a baby.
November 08, 2007
October 30, 2007
Von Lengerke And Antoine
I went West by Greg to a posting about the relative manliness of various firearms. The list managed to support the hoplophobe notion of guns as compensation despite being written to amuse. The page is headed with Oleg's picture of Morrigan Williamson posing with a cute pink evil black rifle. A couple of clicks on from that and I found that her father had, uncharacteristically, done one of those "let's all answer the same question" things.
I'm not going to answer the entire list. Some I don't even recall. One, however, warrants a response. Yes, I shopped at Abercrombie and Fitch. I got married wearing a sport coat and necktie purchased there. One slight difference. This was the business Mr. Abercrombie founded and Mr. Fitch directed. It was, at the time, the place to go to get a shotgun stock custom fitted. I've found that they no longer offer this service.
October 29, 2007
Language Shifts
Even aside from the debate over the effect of a subordinate clause on the overall meaning of a sentence, it is hard to reach an agreement on the meaning of the Second Amendment without understanding what well-regulated meant in the past.
October 27, 2007
Proof Of Something
In Dean's regular Friday night unraveled thread, one of the commenters linked a report that recent fires were started by UFO aliens. I responded with a post regarding the other fires the same day as the ones which destroyed Peshtigo and Chicago. I haven't found an online image of the map which shows the alignment of these fires, but while searching I discovered that the mayor of Chicago at the time was named Roswell Mason, which suggests a truly deep conspiracy and coverup.
October 10, 2007
October 01, 2007
Not Better Than Drugs?
Some time back, the prohibitionists came up with the clever sound bite "Hugs are better than drugs". While dubious as far as aiding an adult unwind from the stress of the workday, it does have validity with regard to helping young people feel good about themselves. Now, however, that option too is being taken away.
September 30, 2007
A Few Common-Sense Gun Laws
The victim disarmament movement loves to offer their latest incremental infringement of the right to keep and bear arms as just a common-sense law on top of the forty thousand gun laws already on the books around the country. Their consistent premise is that denying law abiding citizen access to a few more guns at a time will keep guns out of the hands of evil-doers and "off the streets". There is of course no evidence that these additional restrictions will have any such effect.
Marc Richardson has taken a careful look at the data about where evil-doers actually obtain their guns. Because he starts with data rather than feelings, the legislation he proposes aimed specifically at keeping guns out of the hands of criminals truly deserve that much misused label of a few common sense gun laws.
In the data which he reviewed, roughly 40 percent of the guns used to commit a crime were supplied by a friend or family member who may well have owned it legally. It is probable that in many of these cases, the owner knew the person he was supplying it to was up to no good. Requiring me to go thru a licensed dealer when I transfer a rifle to my hunting buddy will not discourage such loans; making it a felony to supply a firearm used in a crime will.
Another 40 percent come from illegal sources, either street vendors or directly thru theft. A typical stupidity of the War on Some Drugs is that when a criminal is caught dealing in both guns and drugs, prosecutors focus on the drug charges. A revision of this philosophy would discourage such diversification. The gun banners have proposed legislation which would penalize people from whom guns are stolen. Marc's proposal is much more worthy of the label common sense. Simply impose a cumulative mandatory sentence for each gun stolen. This may even reduce the number of illegal DVD players on the street, by making burglary less profitable overall.
September 28, 2007
Malenkaya Pantera
I only barely passed Russian in high school forty years ago; I had the best accent but the worst handwriting. I've done nothing since to refresh what little knowledge I absorbed. I still managed to transliterate enough of the comments in Cyrillic as to have laughed out loud at this un-lolled kitteh pic.
September 13, 2007
Adoptive, Presumeably
A new Beowulf movie could be cool (imagine a cluster of them) regardless of which translation it is based upon. Despite the technology used to create the film, there is something not right about casting Angelina Jolie as Grendel's mother.
September 08, 2007
I Have A Dream...
That someday the children of this great nation will be judged not by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character. Sadly, that day is not here yet.
August 27, 2007
Further Restructuring
I understand that Cheatem and Howe got squeezed out of the partnership quite some time ago.
August 25, 2007
History In The Unmaking
I truly hope that this historic artifact can be saved. If it must be destroyed, it should be done so ceremoniously live on national camera, after a reading of the citation for the Medal of Honor which Sgt. York received for capturing it.
August 22, 2007
Foil Doesn't Help
Torture by satellite, carried out by the U.S. government against unsuspecting victims.
August 21, 2007
Never Mind The 527s
Want World Peace? Tune Your Damn Guitar! By David B. Moye on 16 August, 2007 10:17:00You can read the whole thing here, and, on account of where I found it, you might want to read the comments in response.SANDPOINT, Idaho (TNA) * The solution to world peace may be as simple as tuning your guitar or piano.
At least that's the theory of Dr. Leonard Horowitz, a dentist in Sandpoint, Idaho, who is convinced that out-of-tune musical instruments are destroying DNA.
Horowitz says that ever since the Middle Ages, musical instruments have been tuned to a slightly different cycle than they should be. For instance, a 'Middle C' is tuned to 523 cycles per second when it should be set at 528 cycles per second.
"This Middle C is the middle of the universe," Horowitz said. "It's the center of the color green in the rainbow and the center of the heart chakra."
August 19, 2007
Worked For Us
On the first date, they just tell each other lies and that usually gets them interested enough to go for a second date -- Martin, age 10It's a classic collection, but it happened to turn up just when I was in the mood for it.
I Just Noticed
Altho it happened sometime after he'd been promising, Laughing Wolf has had his new site up for a while. And I just finished a blog roll touch up, dang it.
August 15, 2007
August 14, 2007
More Sloppy Reportage
"The Hennepin County Medical Examiner said the knife penetrated a major aorta. Defense wounds were also located on his left hand."
Hard to hit a minor aorta when the victim is fighting back.
August 12, 2007
I Want One
I am fascinated by oddball machinery. Antique and high performance vehicles, specialized tools, foolish inventions, all that kind of stuff. I'd love to add a semiautomatic machine pistol to my firearm collection. Too bad that phrase qualifies as the oxymoron for the day; it means I can't have one.
Advice For The Day
So keep on the lookout, kids, you never know what exotic high-performance relics might be hiding in your neighbor's garage.The artist Coop is posting about an uncommon 1970 Mercury. When I was a kid, the coach house next door contained a Zagato bodied Aston Martin and what I believe was a Stout Scarab, which had been used for a while as an ambulance.
August 06, 2007
I Can Has Aspergerz?
Going thru my regular not added to the blogroll reads, I stopped by Rita's before getting to Chaz. Thus she gets the blame for sending me to this quiz. I'm right on the borderline now, and answering as best I can for myself as a youngster scores a 36, which fits with my difficulties back then. Only thing is that even then the "flat affect and didn't laugh or get jokes" part of the diagnosis didn't fit. Oh well, it doesn't qualify me for disability benefits so what difference does it make?
August 03, 2007
Unconcealable Evidence
The libertarian blogosphere contains many reports of people being hassled by the authorities over bullsh!t charges. Horsesh!t charges are less common.
July 29, 2007
July 04, 2007
Not All Fell For It
Les Jones, who is on the list for my next blog roll update, has been keeping track of which rock stars haven't insufflated enough of the Kool-Aid to think flying around the world to do Live Earth concerts would be a benefit to the planet.
July 03, 2007
June 27, 2007
June 21, 2007
Idollatry
More precisely, to use the classic young male distinction, iactionfigurity. I have asserted that the belief that guns are intrinsically evil smacks of voodoo. Tam sees even more primitive belief in the latest actions of the Gun Fearing Wussies.
June 20, 2007
Quote For The Day
Good people do not need laws to tell them to act responsibly, while bad people will find a way around the laws...PlatoI just happened upon this in the upper corner of a promotional weekly planner. The timing is perfect, as Deb has just collected the evidence.
June 12, 2007
BOLO
If you happen to be anywhere around Atlanta, help prove the power of the Internet and keep your eyes open for this stolen car. I'm afraid that it was taken to strip for parts, so massive immediate alertness is needed.
June 10, 2007
June 08, 2007
Slip Me Some Skimmed
One hand pointed to an article whose headline described cows as giving skimmed milk, and echoed the error oncorrected. Skimmed milk is necessarily milk from which the butterfat which gives milk its mouthfeel has been removed via a process called skimming. Even if the milk from the special cows were fat-free, it still wouldn't be skimmed. As a matter of fact, what we have is more surprising, as the milk still contains a fat, but it is one more in keeping with current notions of healthfulness. Genetic engineers would love to have come up with this, but if they had there would be a hue and cry demanding a ban on Frankenmilk. Since it is the result of a random mutation (or, if you will, an act by that Designer Who, on noting a sparrow fall, tweaked the sparrow genome to see if such falls could be prevented) the same milk from the same genetics will probably be welcomed.
June 05, 2007
Elsewhere
Given that I saw it linked overseas, I'm glad that at least one weird news story originated outside Wisconsin.
June 04, 2007
June 01, 2007
It Was...
Forty years ago today.
As for the silly rumors about clues that Paul was dead, I had many of those clues brought to my attention by the teenybopper next door, prior to the date some disc jockey claims he made up the rumor. Only thing was the clues were supposed to prove that the Beatles had moved to Brazil.
May 31, 2007
May 24, 2007
Craft Project For The Day
On a websearch intended to produce images of vintage aircraft with riveted aluminum bodies, I happened upon something which would be fun to make either for yourself or as a gift. You would, of course, stuff it with graaains.
May 20, 2007
Two Pieces At A Time
Turns out there are not one but two 49-50-51-52-53-54 Cadillacs out there, except that neither is made from exactly those years and one is even uglier than the other.
May 18, 2007
Problem Solved
Steamdragon reports that school administrators have addressed the problem of shooters entering gun-free zones.
May 17, 2007
April 26, 2007
April 25, 2007
April 11, 2007
April 10, 2007
April 09, 2007
Under An Assumed Name
The old joke about growing a beard and moving to Argentina isn't applicable in this case, but any rumor of demise is clearly exaggerated.
April 04, 2007
April 02, 2007
Proper Response
James recently linked to me over something rather silly. I'm going to return the favor; the difference is that his post is important.
March 29, 2007
Ayup
One of the premises which distinguishes libertarianism from anarchism is recognition that a valid rule of government is protecting people from threats which they cannot practically protect themselves. The debate comes in identifying those threats.
March 27, 2007
Warning
This is one monkey you would do well not to spank.
Update:
Some of these monkeys, however, clearly deserve a spanking.
March 18, 2007
Even More So
I have mentioned before that my mother advised that "Revolutionaries shouldn't spit on the sidewalk." I'm sure she didn't have this in mind.
Me Too, Sorta
Phel took one of those webthing quizzes, and it told her that she is a Lotus Elise. I tried taking the quiz too, and as always found it impossible to answer accurately. Am I more comfortable weilding a sledgehammer or a scalpel? Yes, I am. I've made my living with one, and used the other for my hobby a couple of hours ago. I'd like to think that my personality in fact resembles that of my favorite type of sportscar, which captures the Lotus philosophy better than that orange hunk of driveway candy.
March 15, 2007
More Whole Things
To be read in their entirety. Kevin Baker is taking on those who try to argue against the individual right finding in Parker. Scroll down.
Jed notes that the Jourinal was even less scholarly in their response to the decision. Newspapers should be careful about claiming that the Second Amendment only applies to single-shot, muzzle-loading firearms. If freedom of the press only applies to hand set type, they're going broke.
March 14, 2007
Bimmer Bummer
Looks like BMW hasn't given up on that awful bustle look. I'd still rather have a simple boxy 2002. Only car I ever drove which conveyed the sense that it enjoyed going rapidly. My brother and I each experienced an upward pressure from the gas peddle in time to avoid a speed trap.
March 11, 2007
She Knew Instantly
I told the wee wifey that Nick was using his new digital camera to take Milwaukee themed pictures, and that his latest batch are of what he calls The Bomb Shelter Church. Her immediate response was "Bunker Methodist". Turns out that name is used at the Marquette School of Divinity, where a Presbyterian pastor we know went for his doctorate.
March 09, 2007
Quote For The Day
A righteous man who falters before the wicked is like a murky spring and a polluted well.Cited here; that report found here.
Proverbs 25:26
And Vice Versa
Owen and Ann both have posts discussing the identification of Madison as the most walkable city in the US. I have to wonder how this rating correlates to driveability. The only city I've been in which I found to be worse for driving than Madison is Pittsburg.
March 08, 2007
Jabberwocky
"The time has come," the Walrus said,
"To talk of many things:
Of shoes--and ships--and sealing-wax--
Of cabbages--and kings--
And why the sea is boiling hot--
And whether pigs have wings."
March 06, 2007
March 05, 2007
Quote For The Day
As the adage has it, if all you have is a degree in Design, everything looks like a design problem.All to often, in order to make the Bleat daily, Lileks gives us filler. Maybe a little Gnattering, or an anecdote about his own day; maybe just a reminder that he's in the midst of another book and has little time for his other obligations. Every now and then he gives us something which justifies keeping track of what he's up to, and he certainly did that today.
The Dean of the University of Minnesota's new School of Design gave an interview in which he expounds upon all the ways Design could make the city a Better Place, and Lileks doesn't so much rip him a new one as hand him the old one which works just fine, thank you.
March 03, 2007
Totally Clipped
I've seen a number of solar eclipses. The most recent one, a partial, occurred five minutes after a certain infamous industrial purchasing agent, who, in the manner of one of Louis L'Amour's villians, shared his name with a Chicago neighborhood, called me to acknowledge that he had found paper work documenting that I was right and he was wrong.
Lunar eclipses are much rarer for me. The only one I've seen, again partial, was decades ago while I was at summercamp. We will be attending a church guyboat supper this evening, but I will attempt to drag everyone outside at moonrise.
March 01, 2007
Waterboarding
We can debate as to whether it falls within the definition of torture, but there is no denying that it looks scary.
February 28, 2007
Hand-Eye Coordination
See, Mom, I told you playing video games was a way of developing valuable skillz.
February 25, 2007
Maybe There Is
Patrick has a feature which brings up assorted political quotes at the top of his blog. When I went by most recently I happened upon
"In this country we have no place for hyphenated Americans."It would seem from this report that one American spent 17 months in jail because of being hyphenated.
Theodore Roosevelt
Update:
A longer version of the quote conveniently just turned up. It improves the statement, and shows how little it has to do with the news story I linked.
February 22, 2007
Warm Glogg
Tim Blair got the same spam I did, but he and his commentors fixated upon the spelling error, and paid no attention to the site being promoted. I don't particularly blame them. When my mother made glogg for the New Year's party, she always included a bottle of Everclear.
The fund raising site being promoted, dooniz.com (I'm thinking it is pronounced do nice) is just sad. It looks like a web portal site from ten or twelve years ago when people's bandwidth and browsers might not support graphics. Anyone who clicks thru dooniz to get to walmart.com so that the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation gets the affiliation nanobucks must really be a caring individual.
February 15, 2007
The Truth Is Out There
Out there where they hunt for extraterrestrials and a stolen laptop. Further out there still remain questions.
February 14, 2007
February 08, 2007
Those Who Geeze
If you are inclined to find the process of geezing amusing, you are sure to deem this performance a hoot.
On the other hand, I pray that this urban young'un meant this as a joke.
February 02, 2007
Prime Evidence
Nobody even took a shot at the bonus question, but here is as high quality a clue as you will ever find.
January 29, 2007
A Less Wretched Hive
It is not uncommon, when the seething vileness encountered at certain leftish fora is mentioned at center-right blogs, to offer up Little Green Footballs by way of moral equivalency. Fortunately this is an exaggeration. Had I found the comments in this thread to be ugly and hateful, I would never have encountered this invaluable link.
January 26, 2007
January 09, 2007
And The Snows Were Deeper
Tam noticed with concern recently that she only has 87 gigabites of free space left on her hard drive. This has generated a comment thread in which people report on the capacity of their first drive, or of having used 5-1/4 inch floppies, or 8 inch floppies, or cassette tape, or paper punch tape...
My first computer game was an electical logic puzzle. It was a chunk of 2 X 4 with some double throw knife switches (like the ones in Frankenstein's lab, only smaller) and a light socket, wired in such a way that it modeled the problem of the fox, the goose and the grain. Later, I upgraded to a system called the Brainiac. This was a perforated masonite board, with six perforated masonite disks. By arranging contacts and wires on the board and disks, many such puzzles could be "programmed".
Right Now He Ask
I stopped by Casper's to confirm the detail's of tonite's Drinking Right, and his next most recent post is a review of unfulfilled science fiction promises.
Some of his complaints are old hat. "Where's my flying car?" is a cliche on the order of "I want a pony." The tragic failure to achieve meaningful space travel resulted not from overly wild vision on the part of those who predicted, but lack of vision on the part of those who should have implemented it.
There are things worth discussing about some of his other points. Monoraiils are not widespread simply because they really aren't an improvement. There was another sort of science fiction attire he completeley ignored, that of the scantily clad female. Closest thing I've seen lately was a grotty old tranny in a haltertop at Mayfair Mall.
As for computers and robots, this is something science fiction, and for that matter many scientists, simply got wrong. Artificial intelligence was a gimmick consisting pretty much of a person in a metal costume. My computer isn't self-aware, but it is more powerful and compact than the old predictions, and rather than requiring a second mortgage, as did some I've read about, I pulled it out of an office park dumpster. As for having an anthropoid robot to wash our dishes, a better sensor suite and embedded controller in our under-the counter dishwasher will do just fine.
Oh, one more thing I almost forgot. We are undergoing an alien invasion. It's just not as interesting as science fiction predicted,
January 08, 2007
Redirect
Is there a way I can backtrack a referral in the form
http://www.typepad.com/t/comments?__mode=red&id=xxxxxxxto the comment which generated the visits? It would be nice to know what I said which attracted people's interest.
January 06, 2007
Gras Bilong Fes
Owen wants to know: does any married man grow a beard except when his wife is out of town?
It has been about twenty years since my wee wifey has been away long enough for me to raise any more than stubble. It has only been about twelve years since I stoped shaving my beard off in the spring. Depending on how one counts, one could thus assert that I've grown several beards, altho all on the same face and all trimmed similarly, while she's been at home.
In the comments, Wendy notes that Owen had grown a beard in anticipation of moving to Wisconsin and needing it to keep his face warm. I have in fact proved to my satisfaction that a beard does keep my face warm, not only thru my former practice of shaving it off before the last chill, but also thru the use of thermal imaging equipment to measure the amount of heat given off by various portions of my face.
As for the post title, it means beard in the Tok Pidgin used in Papua New Guinea according to the book The Meaning Of Tingo. I took it out of the library hoping to find a word for the day or two, but there are just too many to choose from.
Update:
The word for the day is Pogonotrophy.
December 31, 2006
Quote For The Day
If a man has a gun, or has access to a gun, and says he intends to kill you, you have the right to believe him.That's from one of Louis L'Amour's characters, Tell Sackett if I recall correctly.
Update:
A commenter has been kind enough as to verify the quote, and correct the wording. It should be noted that had the person Tell Sackett was speaking to had taken the message to heart, Louis L'Amour might not have had reason to write the next book in the series.
December 26, 2006
December 24, 2006
Google Bait
A commenter to a post of Owen's asserted that "Any news story involving lesbians is interesting." So I figured I'd check on the latest happenings on the Greek island of Lesbos in hopes there would be some high temperature activities taking place.
It turns out that Greece has a problem with illegal immigration, and that the island that we are vaguely aware of only because of the presumed lifestyle of one person who lived there in the 7th century BC is an entry point and site of a detention center. Given the attention given to illegal immigrants in the US, and to the island detention center operated by the US, you would think we'd have heard more about the Greek island detention centers for illegal immigrants, where facilities were in a poor state of repair, unhygienic and lacking in basic amenities, and physical abuse and, in some cases, behavior which could be considered torture have been used against detainees. I would bet that the behavior which could be considered torture is more on the order of waterboarding or sleep deprivation than of getting some female guard's frilly unmentionables stuck on your head.
December 22, 2006
Jumbo Calimari
I love the flavor of squid, but it does tend to be, shall we say, chewy. I reckon this variety will be chopped and steamed or fried, rather than stuffed whole.
December 21, 2006
December 08, 2006
Armed Home Defense
Victim disarmament advocates maintain that the best way to respond to crime is to be a coward, but here is evidence that raw courage is effective in driving off thieves.
December 05, 2006
Second Order Effect
It is well known around the blogosphere that a link from the Instapundit will generate considerable traffic. It is this effect, known as the Instalanche, and not the once-infamous puppy smoothies, which gives Glenn his power. What most people don't recognize is that this traffic, like all wealth, trickles down. I call the resultant effect a Nearstalanch.
Nothing I've written of late has caught any particular notice, and thus my traffic, such as it is, has come from a few regular visitors, a few people who noticed various comments or trackbacks old and new, Recipe Carnivals old and new, and search engines. People looking for recipes are finding what they seek, but I'm not sure what draws those who are researching my name-grain or the new word game whose title happens to match that of a post of mine. Today, for the first time in a while the appearance of the latest Recipe Carnival was announced with an Instalink. The result was a 44% spike in daily page views for me from additional people checking out my contribution.
In what has to be a random coincidence, I got my first visit in about a year from the one non-carnival Instalink I'd ever gotten,
December 03, 2006
Eye Declare
As anticipated, Chris gives us a sample of Oleg's work.
I've been a fan of Oleg's about as long as I've been on the web. He does as fine a job as I've seen of explaining the reasons to keep and bear arms.
November 30, 2006
New Again
That's what everything old is, if people forget about it. Unless it disappeared, that is. Dean just noticed and linked the Arguments, which has been in my Other Stuff sidebar forever. This has prompted me to go thru it and remove the stuff which has wandered off, as well as correcting the link to the Eye, which I've known for some time had changed. By the way, my son, who has been there and done that, tells me that the Eye truly sees accurately.
Even older is the Evil Overlord list that Kevin just noticed. I think I first downloaded the original version at 300 baud to a single-sided floppy, but at a minimum note the 1996 copyright date.
November 24, 2006
November 19, 2006
Happy Birthday, Kim
Today being the birthday of my one-time neighbor, Kim du Toit, it is also National Buy Ammo Day. I bought some ammo. I didn't get the hundred rounds he specified, but I did get a box of 150 grain .308 for the Mauser and a box of slugs for the 20 gauge. I also finally updated his link in the sidebar, long after I should have. While I was at it, I purged the expired ones, changed a couple of others, and added a couple of blogs which link me. If anyone else figures they deserve inclusion on that last basis, let me know. The one which deliberately points someplace other than you would expect remains.
November 03, 2006
October 26, 2006
One Can Hope
It should be noted that this little crowd has long worried about European imperialism. Back in the '70s they were calling for a War On Drugs based on the premise that the English monarchy was promoting marijuana for the purpose of subverting the United States.
Hat tip to one of them Tims.
It's Behind Schedule
Ron Coleman has a new post at Dean's entitled "Let the triangulation begin". Very timely. If certain triangulation had begun on schedule, I would not have had to travel so far as to need to stay overnight only to get a message that my call could not be completed as dialed.
October 25, 2006
Another Whole Thing
That is to say, something which you need to read, an extensive essay on the meaning of rights.
October 22, 2006
The Cardinal Rule
Altho he still takes an interest in Milwaukee issues, expat Brian J. is native enough to St. Louis to set new arrivals straight.
October 12, 2006
September 26, 2006
Wounding For Chastity
Would whichever clever right-winger created this site please admit that it is a parody? Otherwise I'll have to believe that there are actually people out there who think the process they advocate will contribute to world peace. Warning- NSFW at any decent place of employment.
September 03, 2006
Relative Ignorance
This is the same corporation which has declined to re-hire my foster nephew Mister Chin despite his having gotten excellent reviews during last year's "holiday" season.
August 27, 2006
August 26, 2006
August 25, 2006
The Proper Response
I would have love to have seen Hillary Clinton do something like this. Actually, I'd have settled for her acknowledging that they had an open relationship and she recognized and accepted Bill's behavior.
August 19, 2006
August 12, 2006
August 04, 2006
July 10, 2006
Noah Vail
Mister Free Market tells the tale (not, properly speaking, a fairy tale) of trying to build a flood-worthy ark under modern-day conditions. Note that he doesn't even address what would happen were Noah to justify the project on the basis that G-d told him to build it..
July 09, 2006
Sweeps Month
I guess it isn't too late to post this link. It appears to be exactly what I've been seeking. This other one won't deal with the warpage issue.
June 24, 2006
Road Trip
Time to stick the right tunes in the car's CD player (or whatever you younguns use now) and head out on the highway. Destination, recipes.
May 13, 2006
May 11, 2006
More Woe To Go
This report is not going to play well in the town of Lake Wobegone, where all the children are above average.
April 04, 2006
Down Word Spiral
This sort of stupid preoccupation is one reason that really large corporations tend to be less profitable than smaller ones, and also one reason I've almost never had employment which registered on the Establishment Survey.
March 26, 2006
Nonetheless
Here's a motorcycle which would not be out of place in Wisconsin despite the fact that it was not made by Harley-Davidson.
March 17, 2006
February 05, 2006
January 30, 2006
The Last Straw
This time, the food nannies have gone too far. I know what I'm having for lunch today.
January 11, 2006
I've Been Bored
Not exactly. I maintain that boredom is a decision, not a condition. I've just had some time and connectivity on my hands.
The number one link at the National Archives.
An alternative to all those eevil SUVs?
Off-label use of a device. Hat dip DeDoc
The ultimate Fisking, found by Lileks.
Not quite what science-fictions foresaw as the communications implant.
She says "I am actually not that interesting." No, she isn't, but I'd love to know her motive.
One of the things I love about my son's canine is that she wouldn't put up with this sort of animal abuse.
December 13, 2005
Target Audience
Almost everyone in Milwaukee was wondering who the main event of the 100th Anniversary was intended for, since it certainly wasn't the stereotypical Harley rider.
Now we know.
December 12, 2005
Run, Dover
I'm so far from getting around to reading the Potter ouvre that the lyrics would probably constitute a spoiler, but this looks to be an absolute hoot.
December 09, 2005
Sere And Ipity
I wasn't looking for something else. I was just googlegoofing. No, I will not identify any searchterms.
"The virtual German Hosiery Museum is a project of the German hosiery industry and an intermediate step towards the realization of the "physical" museum."
"He should not be judged too harshly on this account. He took advantage of such writings on Chinese dress as were then available to him, and at the microlevel of sartorial detail not much more has been published since."All I get of this page is the excerpt for the unregistered, which does not contain my search terms, but the author's analysis of modernity in China has bearing for any discussion of globalization.
"Sometimes I think our world has lost some of its colour, in part due to "political correctness" and other oxymorons."
November 29, 2005
November 18, 2005
Phase Two
Phase one -- steal underpants. That part is well known. Now, thanks to The Armorer, we know what happens next. You get sent to Leavenworth.
November 14, 2005
When I'm 65...
The latest Carnival of the Recipes is up. It is Carnival number sixty five, and it is the latest (distinct from most recent) because a posting glitch. As usual, there is something for everyone, even us Modified Hippies.
Professor Bainbridge didn't submit a recipe this week, but he reports that he made a previous submission for himself again, which amounts to something of an endorsement. In the process he gave us all a lesson in winebiber's jargon and gave me a lesson in Latin.
Banner Bait
Eating spiders while asleep is certainly easier than eating spiders after they wake up, but as long as you chew before swallowing you don't need to worry about them wiggling and jickling and tickling inside.
November 13, 2005
November 12, 2005
Hmmm...
Some people with asthma, some long distance runners, and, of course, the activists claim that marijuana is an effective bronchodilator. If it helps with this the consequences could be real interesting.
Update:
M. Simon (solidly in the activist category sited above) links research on pot and asthma, and a quick google suggests that the congestion mechanism in avian flu is similar. Note that a medicinal vaporizor is far gentler on the lungs than a blunt or bong when considering the possibilities.
November 09, 2005
Not As I Do
I'm skipping this goofy quiz due to the absence of the appropriate conclusion. You, however need to check it out.
No time to explain, Fred, just do as I say!
October 03, 2005
The Da Vinci Clue
It turns out that it actually is possible to gain knowledge, previously hidden, by studying the works of Leonardo Da Vinci.
September 23, 2005
Could It Be?
An engine search which led someone to one of my old posts also pointed to this possible explanation, and purported solution, to some of our problems.
September 15, 2005
Therapistimology
LBJ was still president when I learned the consequences of causing carbonated beverages to exit via the nasel passages due to ill-timed laughter. I was most of the way thru an attempt to guzzle ten ounces of sarsasparilla in one swallow when mine host entered the kitchen and reminded me "Don't laugh." Of course I did.
I have no pity for people who complain that a blog post or comment caused them to SNORK. That is, BTW, an acronym. Soda Nasal Overflow Reaches Keyboard. I have been on line via local RCP/Ms, BBSs and then ISPs only just long enough not to have had to set my phone handset down onto the modem. I understood instantly that was not a medium to be enjoyed simultaneously with food and beverage. I have no pity for those who suffer as a result of doing so. This guy doesn't, either.
September 14, 2005
Litigapalooza
Bloggers are getting threatened with lawsuits for actions which appear to be protected free speech with precedent behind them. There is an old saying about the wisdom of starting a fight with someone who pays a pittance for bandwidth; you cannot protect your alleged good name by attacking them. This is particularly true if one is a deadpan comedian and choose to put oneself in the same category with an aggressive telemarketing firm.
August 12, 2005
Defining Death Down
Professor Bainbridge explores the uncertainty as to whether Van Gorkum is still living, and the legal issues surrounding this uncertainty.
Another reminder to get a living will established, altho I wouldn't suggest going as far as to have it tattooed on your chest in the manner of the biker whose photo appeared in one of the skinart magazines.
August 02, 2005
July 26, 2005
Crosstalk
Smash has posted a little ditty about Matt and Dianne. My own take on this has been that those who thump on the absence of the Bible must be weak in their faith if they fear such a possibility.
July 11, 2005
Triticalanche
Skippy wants a million hits. As of now he needs twentyeight thousand more, which is about how many I've gotten since I started. I reckon I should be able to send him at least two or three. So what the hey - ding his counter.
Update:
Sissy is similarly striving; her goal is ten thousand.
July 10, 2005
I'm Lovin' It
The global spread of McDonalds is condemned as Yankee cultural imperialism. It is true that they impose such uniquely American notions as clean restrooms and prompt service, but the reason they succeed is that wherever they go, they adapt.
Hat tip to a really tiny spirit.
July 08, 2005
Abject Failure
The intent of terrorism is to change people's behavior by inducing terror. The Al Qaeda franchisees who claim credit for hitting London with a pale imitation of one day of the Blitz claim that they have "Britain now burning from fear and panic from the north to the south, from the east to the west." They don't.
Found via the Drink-Soaked Trotskyite Popinjays for War, who, in turn, I found via Michael J. Totten. These are people with whom I disagree on exactly what shape civilization ought to take, but who have a clear understanding of just who the enemies of civilization are.
Update:
More absence of terror.
Upperdate:
Aaron doubts this resolve will lead to meaningful results, but in the short run, this is as brave an action as I have ever heard of.
July 04, 2005
Web Footed Friends
My mother-in-law took umbrage by the truckload. She was convinced that I was singing an insult to flat footed friends, as others had done when she had served as a WAC (but not a duck). I meant no insult to her (on that occasion), I meant no insult to Sousa, altho I was having fun with one of his greatest compositions, and I certainly meant no insult to the flag of the free.
It has been reported that John Phillip Sousa would have preferred to write dance music, and wrote marches because they sold so well. I myself have thought it would be fun to render The Stars And Stripes Forever as a dance mix or as rock 'n roll but my experiments in changing the instruments in the MIDI arrangement I found were for naught. Here, however is a MIDI arrangement, posted in honor of the Fourth, which turned out quite well.
Dean Esmay has also posted a version today, this one an MP3 of a live performance by a youth orchestra. I think you will get as much enjoyment from as the audience obviously did. Another interesting version is linked in the comments. I already had yet another arrangement in my collection, found a couple of months ago courtesy of Lynn in d minor.
Let despots remember the day!
July 03, 2005
Thank God And Greyhound
On those rare occasions that I start missing Chicago, I just start reading The Spoons Experience and am cured. Usually it is news of further victim disarmament by manic hoplophobe Daley the Second, but this time he brings to our attention something which should be an embarrasment to every adult in the city.
June 28, 2005
I An Not A Number
Despite that fact, if I do actually ever acquire one of these, it will not be painted the colors associated with being not a number. Around here they have a very different meaning.
Altho I am not a number,
June 12, 2005
Culture Notes
Some things may indeed be more important than politics; if so this is a reminder that all politics is local.
April 30, 2005
Where's The Kaboom?
The Viking Pundit offers up some demographic data, and it looks like his conclusion is close to the one I first raised in the comments here. If there comes a point that the only way to keep Social Security going is to turn it into an overt welfare program at the cost of the economy, the party which refused to deal with that possibility when it was first raised gonna have some 'splaining to do.
The Comedy Circuit
From a corporate law professor well versed in Constitutional matters comes a joke about appeals to the Supreme Court. He of course follow it up with "But seriously, folks..."
April 24, 2005
Follow Them Links
I've been collecting Nigerian 419 letters for so long that in one or another box in the basement is one typed on paper like the Rathergate documents weren't. Altho some people seem to have missed it, I didn't post this just to share one. There is a link in that post - there really were five million dollars and someone apparently did move them away from where it was meant to go.
March 24, 2005
'Ell If I Know
What do you get if you cross an elephant and a rhinoceros?
March 13, 2005
Indolence
As someone who retains a scholarly interest in the complex chemistry of psychedelics and the brain, I'd love to see more research on what exactly is going on here.
Update:
Link fixed
March 11, 2005
Revised Theory
The fashion advice of the Manalo, it is super-fantastic, and the third person, English as a second language shtick, it is amusing. The triticale had presented the theory that the Manalo is fluent in the English, but now the triticale, he is not so certain.
Read the last three words. The AI was not programmed carefully enough.
March 03, 2005
Bloguncledom
Frank Martin has answered the age-old question How did I start blogging, and what has it meant to me? with the sort of worthwhile essay he is noted for, and in it he gives me some of the credit (or blame). I'm not sure making an offer of hosting space, when he chose other arrangements, constitutes insistant. I figured he were meant to be a blogger, as this early post demonstrates.
He ends his essay by describing blogging as "The best way to drain your emotions since the invention of the medicinal leech", which is about as much better than "it beats yelling at the callers to talk radio" as his posts generally are compared to mine. I do hope folks will scroll down a bit, and maybe check back once in a while. I have a few essays in the works, and time to polish them is coming my way.
February 28, 2005
It's No Curse
May you live in interesting times.
Update:
On the other hand...
February 27, 2005
Tonight's Low, 45 Degrees
Tomorrow's high, whenever I get up....
February 15, 2005
Okay, You're A Milkshake
Be careful what you ask for.
You Just might get it.
February 04, 2005
Silly And Immature
As for myself, I'd rather see them send the Mission Impossible team, or maybe just have John McClane happen to be stuck in the building.
February 02, 2005
Not Exactly
There are other responsibilities one can take on, aside from hosting a National Specialty, which could lead one to understand why I paraphrase the veteran's cliche. If there is one thing I learned in the Girl Scouts, it is never volunteer for anything.
January 28, 2005
Churchkey
"Wow, that's something you don't see every day." In fact, you won't get to see it at all at its intended venue. I still wouldn't buy Budweiser, I belong to that population who gets Bud-specific headaches, but I wish they had the fortitude to disregard that someone out there who is always offended about something.
January 20, 2005
January 18, 2005
The Bloggerette And My Blog
It is really all her fault. She had posted a tale of how her Little Dude had hit some adult with a snappy comeback, and I left a comment about how Emrack had done the same sort of thing when he was a youngster. She sent me a note saying she would enjoy seeing more stories about my son. That was the final incentive which puhed me over the line to starting a blog.
The thing is that Emrack stories just don't come across that well online. I can retell his story of seeing two dogs getting into a fight in the heart of the hippiest part of the Rainbow Gathering (not the part where he hangs out). It just isn't the same as seeing him standing in front of you, pointing with one hand, and waving a wad of bills with the other.
December 31, 2004
Malpractice
He wants to sue, but they told him he doesn't have a leg to stand on...
Bold As Love
Steven Den Beste has retired as an essayist, but fortunately his analytical skills are still being brought to bear, as in a comment here.
December 26, 2004
Saint Stephen's Day
Good King Sauerkraut looked out
On his feet uneven...
It should be noted by any Deadheads reading this that Saint Stephen was in fact stoned to death.
December 09, 2004
High Beams
She had a pair of headlights you could read by....
November 01, 2004
Gong Show?
Jeff Soyer says he was watching Vermont political debates, but I have my doubts.
October 03, 2004
Oot And A Shoe
The cellular company I am teching for has a policy that any work which requires premeditated shutdown of a site or portion of the network must be done after 2:00 AM. That way the only people we inconvenience are the inner city residents making calls at 2:45 who are the core of our customer base. There is no capital right now to finish the sites where we are already paying rent in critical coverage holes, but the existing sites are getting a software upgrade and the entire central control system is being replaced. Nightwork is of course scheduled for the nights when I am also awake at 10:30 PM so as to drive the wee wifey to work. I have thusly had nothing interesting to blog about nor the energy and acuity to formulate posts worthy of perpetuity. Letting others formulate the discussion and merely commenting has been more my blogging speed. As evidence, note that the recent recipes were keyed in two Carnivals back and I then didn't get it together to write the framing material and see who gets the link until this one. Worth the effort tho; if you want to lure a bunch of new readers I've seen nothing come close.
Other bloggers have, surprisingly enough, been off in other directions.
Juliette has an advantage over me. She finds stuff to blog about even while asleep.
Edna has a very different reason for not having blogged of late. She thinks that she has lost The Funny, but what remains in its place is sufficient.
Anna is out on a road trip, finding plenty to blog about . Had that last detail been discovered and publicized forty years ago, it would have changed the course of popular culture in this country. The previous posts are worth reading too, if you dare.
Ed proves over and over that if you work at it there is always something relevant to link to.
At one of my favorite little-known blogs, David Farrer introduces a new word to describe the unescapable downside of redistribution. Kim du Toit will like the word, but propose applying it differently.
Wretchard is linking someone whom he sees as by far his superior in terms of experience, access to information and probably analytical ability. Most uf us can do this any time, but when he does, it is worthy of note.
September 12, 2004
Wine Blogging
Well, that is a large part of what I read Professor Bainbridge for. I would be interested in finding out if someone calculates a QPR for Richard's Wild Irish Rose.
The reason I'm linking him today is that he is giving away free (a great way to advertise books) an excerpt from his textbook on corporation law, amended specifically to address the possibility of a stockholder suit against the directors of Viacom for lost value at CBS over the forgery issue. He says it won't happen.
Economics blogger Steve Verdon also took a specialty specific tangent on the memo scandal. Taking points of doubt only from Kevin Drum's admirably sceptical post, he does a Bayesian analysis of the probability that the memos are not forgeries. Mathematically negligable.
September 11, 2004
Linkery
Like Juliette said, Just Because:
The Geek with a .45 has posted an excellent essay aimed at those who fear the motives of gun-rights activists. Could be a good entry point for anyone you might be trying to reach.
Wretchard the Cat uses his background in military history to explore Dan Rather's situation from a different angle. I have to wonder whether the otherwise readworthy Billy Beck dislikes him as much as he does Steven Den Beste.
The post at Belmont Club pushed someoneover the edge who had sworn he'd never launch a blog. I first discussed issues of Power and Control with M.Simon over 20 years ago, in the context of industrial computing where he makes his living. If he ever figures out that the Internet rendered Ogilvie on Advertising obsolete he's going to get some serious recognition.
Brian J. Noggle censors a dead horse.
Is the blogosphere really a complex self-organizing system, or just neat non-linear nonsense?
Failure is not an option, it is included in the base price.
August 13, 2004
Formal Notice
Time's up on being able to say "I was reading him when..."
Noted commenter Varifrank has, under pressure from the overwhelming response to what he'd had to say at the Vodkapundit, launched his own blog.
I took an active part in applying that pressure, and I'm pleased with the results. I'd offered him my old blog-city space, premium hosting paid up thru February. Can anyone suggest another commenter worthy of blogfathering?
August 12, 2004
Advance Notice
You'll be hearing from this fellow more, once he gets comfortable in the blogosphere. Read the comments to this post, and someday you'll be able to say "I was reading him when..."
August 10, 2004
Like They Say...
The Vodkapundit has posted one of those Whole Things. You know what to do.
July 08, 2004
Family Dining
Marginal Tyler links to a report of a restaurant chain which takes family dining to a new extreme. This is not like the eatery around Plano Texas which runs radio ads to the effect of "So much like eating at Granma's, if you came from Arkansas you don't have to wear shoes." This is actually about family. Original story here.
July 03, 2004
Tooth and Claw
Many years ago, at a company Christmas party, the wife of one of the engineering staff was trying to explain to me why we humans shouldn't eat other animals. She claimed we hadn't evolved to eat meat, and offered my teeth as evidence. (Not hers; they were such a mess that the consensus at work was that her husband had no interest in receiving oral favors.) She asked me where was my equipment for cutting and tearing flesh. I answered by dramatically flicking my knife open.
It would appear that evolutionary science shares my take on the matter. I followed a trail of crumbs to an article which suggests that the knife may have been the key breakthru in the advance of mankind.
June 19, 2004
Heh! Heh! Heh!
Dean is correct in reporting that Jeff's right that James Taranto summed it up perfectly.
I chouldn't have said it better too.
June 17, 2004
Grainitude
While blogreading at work today, I noticed, on somebody's blogroll, the Whole Wheat Blogger. I figured, as one grain to another, that I ought to check it out, but I did not commit to memory where I found the link.
Turns out I owe someone a hat tip, because he has (at the current bottom of the page, no permalinks, scroll down) something important to point out. There is, as he says, a double standard among those who tell us that all of Islam should not be judged by al Qaeida (I don't think it should), yet all of the U.S. military should be judged by the handfull on the night shift at Abu Ghraib (it shouldn't either).
June 16, 2004
Kidney Divey Too
Today is Bloomsday, in fact the 100th anniversary of the original Bloomsday. Sheila O'Malley has devoted the day to blogging about James Joyce and Leopold Bloom. Other bloggers have also touched on the subject.
As for myself I could never get into James Joyce's writing. Louis L'Amour, David Weber and Eleanora Robertson are more my speed. I am making myself a dish of kidneys for dinner tonite, after giving them a goodly bath of rinse water.