I'm moving

This Blogger quirk with the messed up comment thing if you're using IE has caused me to jump ship. I'll be taking my babbling over to http://www.edub52.com/blog/. See ya there. :)

Yeah, I'm still doing the blog thing...

...what can I say? I've been busy. But exams are finally over and now I can pretend to have a real life, and that involves posting stuff like this:



I'm thinkin' this wouldn't happen if he kept his dick in a box. ;)

Thanks ACORN!

Voting is fun! We got to do it over and over again! And you pay better than mom and dad.

Ya know...

For someone who hates Halloween (and I do, intensely), I spend way too much time carving pumpkins. In what has become a tradition, I was tasked to create pumpkins in keeping with the kids' mode of costume.

Meg has moved on from the Harry Potter series to something called Twilight. Apparently Meg has a thing for Edward the vampire. Edward leaves hickies. Bad hickies. Meg should ask her mom about dear ol' dad's reaction to hickies. ;) (private joke)



No, she's not really that pasty white, but I feel compelled to make that qualification since pasty whiteness is a familial trait. Meg said this was awesome. I found it tedious, but if it makes her happy...



Bry went from being Anakin Skywalker last year to being Captain Rex, the clone trooper who served alongside Anakin in the Star Wars: Clone Troopers film.



In what seemed like the logical extension of this trend to his falling to the dark side...



Next year we're doing cats or faces made of triangles or something like that.

I'm back

Well, actually, I never went anywhere. Rather, I've been mired in a great malaise, sort of like the late 70's, bordering on a 30's-like depression. But to hell with that. Better to be mirthful. It's much too hard to fake a smile. To wit:

Thinking of mom...

If life works the way it's supposed to, we're guaranteed to feel the pain of loss. A parent. A spouse. Maybe a sibling. God forbid a child. It's unavoidable. We usually don't know when to expect it. Sometimes we know how it happened. We always ask why when it does. We beg God for the answer to that question, but we know why. And still we ask.

The only thing that makes any of this alright is hope. Hope that our loved ones are forever in a better place. Hope that we'll one day be reunited with them by the grace of God. For some, this hope comes easily and naturally. For others, like myself, it's a struggle. And still I hope.

If you're fortunate enough to have your parents around, call them. Tell them you love them. Don't wait hoping for a day that may never come. Life has a way of letting you know how it's supposed to work when you least expect it.

Our government at work

Lisa hands me a letter from the IRS with a snort. What now? She's not the snorting type, so this should be good, or bad, as the case may be. The last letter I received from this paragon of governmental efficiency said I underpaid my 2006 federal income taxes by $400 and that a $40 interest penalty was assigned. My accountant admitted the error and covered the $40 interest penalty.

Apparently the interest on the $400 underpayment was only $39.68, and that I had a refund due of $0.32. $0.32! Wow, imagine what I could do with $0.32. Why, I could send a lette... wait a minute. The IRS sent me a letter telling me I could send them a letter to recover $0.32? Not only me, but Lisa too. I check the envelope; first-class presorted postage, which is $0.394. So let me get this straight--the IRS spent $0.788 in postage alone to tell Lisa and I that we can spend $0.42 to request a $0.32 refund? Are these people daft? Is this all part of the USPS welfare program? Yes, I know this is all automated and no one really made the decision to issue we serfs... err, taxpayers, a $0.32 refund, but then someone had to program the IRS Tax-o-tron 9000 with this bit of logic. I won't even get into the cost of materials, e.g. paper. It's ludicrous.

I'm not a tax expert. I've had all of two law classes in tax, which probably makes me as qualified as the next guy to work at H&R Block, but it's a vast, exceedingly complex field and I am a bear of very little brain. But from what I can tell, the tax system in this country is f'ed up (and my choice of words and contractions is so damn clever and works on so many levels that I just had to point it out parenthetically). We tax the fruits of our labor and the government gets the first fruits before we ever see a dime. It's sorta like tithing. And we tax when we give, either by gift or in death, the underlying principle being that we don't want future generations to have it too easy, which strikes me as institutionalized class envy. We've certainly gone out of our way to make a function of the government adversarial to the interest of the people. I blame Woodrow Wilson, a liberal fascist if there ever was one, but I digress.

For a country that prides itself on its industriousness, our tax system stands at odds with what we value. So, why don't we tax something that most refer to with derision, that being consumerism? Why don't we simply impose a national sales tax in lieu of a personal income tax? I don't think most people refrain from purchasing something simply because of the local or state sales tax, though people will shop online to avoid it. Let's close the loophole and charge a flat 5% for everything purchased except maybe basic food stuffs. No more filing annual tax returns. No more hunting for deductions. No more silliness on the part of the IRS as to under or overpayment. You keep what you make and you're taxed on what you spend, and if you spend less and keep more, then maybe this country won't have the credit issues and problems with healthcare and housing costs. Maybe.

In any case, I'll pass on my $0.32 refund. Consider it a gift, Uncle Sam, pursuant to Sec. 170(c)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code.

This should be fun...

Knowing that politics, like the economy, runs in cycles, I pretty much wrote off the upcoming election as being a redux of 1976. People like soaring rhetoric, and while I'll be damned if I can tell you what Obama stands for, he does have soaring rhetoric. McCain, on the other hand, comes off sounding like the old guy telling the kids to stay off his lawn. He did, that is, until he discovered Palin. Zowie for a number of reasons... ahem, all political reasons, of course. ;)

Once the media got over its shock at the novelty of the selection, the attacks began. Some were ridiculous, like her family issues, while some were reasonable in context, like her supposed lack of experience, though equally ridiculous when the charges come from Obama. The New York Times raised the issue in an August 30, 2008 editorial when it said:

Governor Palin’s lack of experience, especially in national security and foreign affairs, raises immediate questions about how prepared she is to potentially succeed to the presidency. That really is the only criterion for judging a candidate for vice president.

But contrast that to what The New York Times said on July 3, 1984:

Where is it written that only senators are qualified to become President? . . . Or where is it written that mere representatives aren’t qualified? . . . Where is it written that governors and mayors . . . are too local, too provincial? . . . Presidential candidates have always chosen their running mates for reasons of practical demography, not idealized democracy. . . . What a splendid system, we say to ourselves, that takes little-known men, tests them in high office and permits them to grow into statesmen. . . . Why shouldn’t a little-known woman have the same opportunity to grow?

That, of course, was written in support of Geraldine Ferraro. So which is it? I don't really care, since I find the NYT to be substandard medium upon which to potty train a puppy, let alone read, but it does amuse me to see the left-wing media flip-flopping to lash out at a threat to the Obamessiah. It's gonna be an interesting race to November.

My Olympic Thought for the Day

Nostalgia

It's not often, if ever, you hear a country song about a college, but then this isn't just any college. A&M is quintessentially Texas. It's rich with tradition and a heritage intertwined with the state itself. My time there was short, something I'll always regret, but it left an indelible impression. Ok, so maybe I could easily be the subject of a few Aggie jokes. ;) I thought this song and video captured some of those traditions, some of that spirit.

Pardon me, have you seen a Titleist 3?

For those not interested in golf or comparisons of me to bears, and the comparison is not slight, you may resume your regularly scheduled innerwebs browsing. Otherwise, behold me, the mighty bear. From the story:

The inquisitive beast ambled out of the wilderness and onto the East Course at the Broadmoor on Friday, crossing the 13th fairway between ESPN on-course color analyst Dottie Pepper and golfer Bernard Langer and his caddie, Terry Holt, before trying to mingle with spectators outside the ropes.

Now is it any coincidence that I'm an inquisitive bear and I happened to amble out of the wilderness that is O'Fallon onto the course at Mid-Rivers on Friday? I think not.

Curtis Lemay wept...

Ok, no one I know cares about this except for Herndawg, who's too busy diving elbow-deep into people's innards to comment here, but I'm posting it anyway because it's not everyday you see SecAF and the Air Force Chief of Staff get taken out at the knees.

As previously posted, the unauthorized transport of six nuclear warhead-equipped cruise missiles was a career-limiting maneuver for 70 officers and enlisted associated with the 5BW at Minot. Now life at Minot is one of great agony and torment even during the best of times. It's cold. It's isolated. It's basically the third ring of hell (Barksdale's the fifth). Now imagine being in the third ring of hell and having Cerberus scrutinize every little frikkin' thing you did over and over and over and over and over and over... this is what life was like after that mistake. You would think with this much scrutiny, the 5th would have sailed through its Operational Readiness Inspection. It didn't. I don't think even Dante could imagine the level of hell the troops of the 5th experienced after that. I think today's organizational bloodshed was just as much a reflection of the 5th's failure as it was the mistaken shipment of fuses cited as the straw that broke the camel's back in The Donald Report (am I the only one who thinks of Trump?).

I titled this "Curtis Lemay wept..." because I think ol' Curt would be truly saddened at what his Air Force has become. With no Cold War, we have no incentive to maintain a force capable of responding in [redacted]. Consequently, our pointy tip of the spear no longer has an edge. Here's the scary part to that--the squadron commanders that are in charge of maintaining that edge are younger than I am, and I sat all of one full nuclear alert tour before President Bush had our forces stand down. That means none of the people who actually make all this work have any real experience doing so. It wasn't long after the stand down that the Air Force was reorganized--TAC-imcized, as we used to say. In other words, the Strategic Air Command (the bomber guys) were the subject of a hostile takeover by the Tactical Air Command (the fighter guys). The two cultures don't mix well, and the resultant Air Combat Command never really understood or assumed the kind of mindset needed when it comes to playing with nuclear weapons. And, as evident by recent events, that lack of mindset caught up with the powers that be, who are no more.

I don't think sacking SecAF and the Chief of Staff will fix what ails the Air Force. They didn't create the culture; they inherited it. But, it was an unusual display of accountability on the part of government. I hope they keep that up.

Proud Daddy

Say what you want about the intelligence, or perceived lack thereof, of President Bush, but it's still very cool that my little girl earned this award. Hell, even with my government service, I don't think I have anything signed by the president's autopen.

Just as proud, here's "huggie boy's" walk across the preschool graduation stage.

res ipsa loquitur

My Grand Plan

Wow, I've really slacked off on the whole blog thing. StumbleUpon has been my social media medium of choice lately, if for no other reason than it doesn't require me to think much. And it has pictures... ooooh, pretty pictures...

But thinking I've been doing. Some of that was in conjunction with school (another semester down, three more to go), and some of that was as a result of where I think we, as in the good ol' US of A, are headed if we don't pull our head out. Pardon the War & Peace post, but some assumptions need to be explained lest you think I'm whack.

One of my classes this semester was antitrust. I thought it would be good for a would-be corporate lawyer to know how corporations can get themselves into trouble. It seems intuitively obvious that the powers that be frown if you try to take over the world, or your little commercial corner of it, and yet that doesn't seem to stop corporate Dr. Evils from trying to do so. Now don't get me wrong--I still believe in big "bidness" and the wonders of capitalism. But, I think my free market brethren have turned a blind eye to Big Oil, and I fear for the fate of the Republic if we don't take steps now to head off the economic disaster that we're hurtling toward at $4.00 a gallon.

Gasoline/diesel--automotive petrol--is not a "normal" good in an economic sense. Its demand curve is inelastic, which is to say demand for gasoline remains relatively stable regardless of the price, at least in this country. This is because the US is geographically expansive and the dominant form of transportation used to traverse this expanse, namely cars and trucks, uses gas or diesel almost exclusively. Consequently, the price of anything that requires transportation by car or truck will rise and fall (heh!) with the price of fuel. Now imagine the price of goods when the price of gasoline climbs to $12.00 a gallon, as predicted by some analysts. The price of goods in and of itself isn't a big deal if wages rise accordingly, but unless you make your living one job at a time and can raise your rates accordingly, it's almost a certainty that wages won't keep up with the cost of living. No one gets weekly or monthly COLA increases, so this will then impact consumer spending and consumer confidence. For all the bad-mouth consumerism gets, it *is* what drives our economy, so if people aren't buying, companies aren't profiting, resulting in the layoff of the already non-buying people. Vicious circle much?

So, what to do... what to do... I know! The government should get into the gas station business! Well, not the gas station business so much as the energy station business, with energy being the generic term for hydrogen and electricity. Now being the paleo-conservative I am, I loathe government involvement in business about as much as the next sane guy, but there's a time to stick to your ideological guns, and there's a time to acknowledge that sometimes--sometimes--government is the answer. The federal government is good at doing things which are cost-prohibitive for states and municipalities, like maintaining a standing army or building an interstate highway system, and doing things which aren't profitable for business to do, like providing healthcare to the indigent and performing research that has little commercial value. Of course the production, distribution and sale of petroleum is lucrative on a scale few of us can imagine, but no one in their right mind would open a station that sells hydrogen and electricity for alternative-fuel vehicles because there simply aren't enough of such vehicles to make that venture profitable. It's a chicken/egg problem. Let's have the feds create an egg so private enterprise can grow it into a chicken... or a turkey; your mileage may vary.

I propose that the feds start buying out stations, or, dare I say it... use... eminent domain to secure the properties (I am *so* going to lose my standing with the vast rightwing conspiracy™). I don't have a good sense (some say any) as to what the saturation point would be, but I don't think it would take all that many stations to get the ball rolling... say, one station every 20 square miles in a major metropolitan area. Refit these stations with equipment like this (the Danes are way ahead of us on this).

Now it's not enough to simply build energy stations; you need customers. Governments can take the lead in converting vehicles to hydrogen, but that's a mere drop in the fuel cell as compared to what the driving public uses. No, we need to be driving this or this or any number of other hydrogen-powered vehicles as seen on Hydro Kevin's Hydrogen Cars & Vehicles. I might even go so far as to mandate that auto manufacturers produce a certain percentage of hydrogen-powered vehicles for sale in the US market by year such & such.

As a rule, new technology tends to cost more than old technology. Some of that is driven by the lack of economies of scale, and some of that comes from market forces, namely, people are willing to pay a pretty penny for shiny new toys. Hydrogen cars may be more expensive at the outset, but I would advocate a tax credit for their purchase to offset the higher cost. As to hydrogen fuel, the cost of such poses an interesting question--how low do you go when you're selling government-subsidized fuel? Do we want to drive the oil companies out of business? I hope not, but I do want to encourage them to take over the business of producing and selling hydrogen with the same ubiquity as gas. The majority of profit for oil companies and the majority of cost for consumers comes in the sale of crude. At roughly $120 a barrel, about $2.70 of the price you pay at the pump for each gallon of gas went to the purchase of the crude. Problem is, there's not a lot of competition when it comes to producing crude, and the cartel that produces the most is overt in controlling price; cartels are, by definition, anticompetitive. The price at the pump also reflects the cost of refinement, distribution, sales and marketing, but the second largest chunk of change of the pump price goes to taxes--roughly 20%. Taxing goods which are not economically "normal" is great for revenues because government is guaranteed a steady stream of income regardless of what price that good is sold. However, taxing gas when the price of gas threatens to tank our economy is not so great, and it should be stopped or curtailed. Having two goals of encouraging the transition to hydrogen and reducing the cost of petroleum, I would set the pump price for hydrogen at maybe $1.50 a compressed gallon... maybe a buck, maybe two. Yes, the oil companies will scream bloody murder that they can't compete and that the government is trying to drive them out of business. True, they can't compete when oil sells for $120 a barrel, so start selling something they can compete in. With competition, the price of oil will drop. Whether you drive a hydrogen- or gas-powered car, you'll have more money in your pocket under my grand plan.

Of course once we transition to a hydrogen-based economy, we still have some of the same issues we face with petroleum, the primary being a lack of competition. There may be new entrants into the hydrogen market, but just as we have an oligopoly on the production of petroleum, so too is there an oligopoly on the distribution and sale of gas. This is because the market is defined differently. In terms of production, the market is global; in terms of distribution, the market is the corner where you notice you're running on empty. The purchase of gas isn't planned, so consumers are largely dependent on what fuel costs at a given corner. Gas stations act collusively in that they set prices within a penny of each other. Some may see that as perfect competition, but gas is bought on futures contracts, so it's highly unlikely the gas used to supply four stations on any given corner was bought at precisely the same price. If hydrogen were to become the dominant automotive fuel, we could see the same oligopolistic behavior as we do now with gas. It's useful to note that where monopolies are granted or allowed to exist, such as public utilities, they're regulated. If the government were to get out of the energy station business, which it eventually should, some form of regulation needs to be implemented to keep what is the lifeblood of our economy at a reasonable price that allows for producers to profit, but not at the expense of throwing out the economic baby with the bath water.

So there you have it. I'm hoping some politician will steal my idea. In the meantime, feel free to pick it apart.

Wee!

There be earthquakes!

That was kinda fun. Ok, maybe it's only fun if your house doesn't come tumbling down on you. It's like 4:30 in the morning and I'm sacked out on the couch due to, well... intestinal distress. I feel this whomp whomp that I associate with a helicopter rotor wash and think to myself "damn, that's waaay too close." But in the haze of fitfull sleep, it takes a few moments to realize I don't hear a helicopter. Lisa comes running out of the bedroom, Bryan's crying and I'm looking in the backyard for a helicopter. Meg sleeps through it all.

With my intestinal distress mostly under control, Bryan and I wander back to my bed. Lisa, journalist/blogger/Twitter addict that she is, decides now's a good time to Twitter and blog about geotectonic disturbances. Great fun.

Nothing Like a Spring Snow

We awoke today, Easter Day and a three days into spring, to snow. The sun then came out and melted all that snow. It then got to about 41 degrees and, believe it or not, it started snowing again. Hard. With huge wet snowflakes, blowing north to south in my yard, but south to north in my neighbor's yard. And it continued snowing even as the sun came out. In a word, it was weird.

I wonder how that all fits into the global warming alarmists' picture? I thought it fitting, given todays's snow, to highlight an interesting article in the The Australian titled Climate facts to warm to. Of course this article is categorized as opinion whereas a similar article in favor of the global warming hype would be considered to fall into the, ahem... climate category.

My favorite part:

If Marohasy is anywhere near right about the impending collapse of the
global warming paradigm, life will suddenly become a whole lot more interesting.

A great many founts of authority, from the Royal Society to the UN,
most heads of government along with countless captains of industry, learned
professors, commentators and journalists will be profoundly embarrassed. Let us
hope it is a prolonged and chastening experience.

With catastrophe off the agenda, for most people the fog of millennial
gloom will lift, at least until attention turns to the prospect of the next ice
age. Among the better educated, the sceptical cast of mind that is the basis of
empiricism will once again be back in fashion. The delusion that by recycling
and catching public transport we can help save the planet will quickly come to
be seen for the childish nonsense it was all along.

The poorest Indians and Chinese will be left in peace to work their way
towards prosperity, without being badgered about the size of their carbon
footprint, a concept that for most of us will soon be one with Nineveh and Tyre,
clean forgotten in six months.

The scores of town planners in Australia building empires out of
regulating what can and can't be built on low-lying shorelines will have to come
to terms with the fact inundation no longer impends and find something more
plausible to do. The same is true of the bureaucrats planning to accommodate
"climate refugees".

Penny Wong's climate mega-portfolio will suddenly be as ephemeral as
the ministries for the year 2000 that state governments used to entrust to
junior ministers. Malcolm Turnbull will have to reinvent himself at vast speed
as a climate change sceptic and the Prime Minister will have to kiss goodbye
what he likes to call the great moral issue and policy challenge of our
times.

"The great moral issue and policy challenge of our times." Pshaw.

Cool New Tunes

I ripped this off Julie O's blog. Much better music gadget than last.fm because you can play the whole frikkin' song if you click on it, and it has a better selection of songs. And it doesn't time out like last.fm. I should probably reorder the songs, as there are more than a few "what the?" transitions. Still, I'm funny that way.

I'm kind of a big deal

So, the transmission on the Honda goes kaput. Not kaput as in "energetically disassembles" kaput, but it's noticeable that things are awry... askew... a-not-so-good. Lisa, in her OCD researchy way, discovered that this was a common problem for Hondas of our ilk and that your mileage may vary as to whether the dealership would stick it to you. So, we were prepared for a fight.

Upon dropping the vehicle off this morning, things were not looking good; we were headed in the direction of getting oh so stuck. The service guy feigned ignorance as to the commonplace nature of the problem.

Later, the dealership calls Lisa and the stick is on. $3500 for a new transmission. Pshaw! Lisa summoned her mighty bunny indignant righteousness and pounded her little fist verily, which resulted in her speaking to someone trained to deal with such a ferocious onslaught. "How many Hondas have you owned?" asked the Honda poopscreen. "Three" was the answer, with the clear implication that if they wanted to trade a $3500 transmission for a $35,000 sale on a new car, they were well on their way to success. The woman poopscreen takes this under advisement (note: I'm not using the term "poopscreen" derogatively--I'm a poopscreen, and for Honda no less).

Lisa calls me and I call the dealership. The service guy wants to argue over semantics about what is or isn't a "recall." I allow him this indulgence while I take notes. My plan is simple: I'm going to amass a body of evidence so overwhelming, so utterly complete and unassailable, and then call my contacts within Honda corporate and beat them about the head and shoulders until the word comes from on high to the dealership that this error on their part will be dealt with promptly and gratis.

After picking Lisa up from work, we plot our next step in the education of Honda. First, there's the "I'm kind of a big deal" spiel. Let them know that future business hinges on this decision. Let them know that should they resist, holy hell will rain down on them as Lisa, social media maven that she is, goes to war with Honda on the internet. While we're doing this, the phone rings. It's the service guy. There's a long pause. A really long pause. Is he waiting to see who speaks first? Oh, enough of this already! "Yes?" My response lingers with expectancy. "Would you be willing to pay a hundred dollar deductible?" "You mean instead of paying $3500?" "Yes, and you get a 3-year, 36,000-mile warranty." Victory! Because, I don't know how to put this, but I'm kind of a big deal.

*sigh*

And I thought I had this fairly well concealed.

Since you asked...

I've had a number of friends and acquaintances ask me about the upcoming election, so I thought I would share my views for all.

First, fair notice for those visiting for the first time or just don't know me well enough to get a sense of my politics: I'm a registered Republican and a paleoconservative. Life was good in the 80's and Reagan should be beatified. If you disagree--*shrug*

Also, this is admittedly a simplified view. I'm not a political wonk, economist, or someone "in the know." I'm a simple guy with simple thoughts.

I liken this to 1975 or 76. Probably more like 75. We had an unpopular war, made unpopular by the Left (though it's ironic that it was Johnson, a liberal Democrat, who escalated the Vietnam conflict, but I digress). Congress was controlled in 1975 by the Democrats, and it was Congress which ignored Ford when he practically pleaded for them to not cut off funding to support South Vietnam. With absolutely no support from the US, things turned out badly for the South Vietnamese. Furthermore, Ford was faulted for the loss of South Vietnam to the Communists by conservatives in the GOP.

Ford was also criticized by the GOP for negotiating with Panama to hand over the canal to their control. It was seen as being weak in protecting US interests.

We also had a faltering economy in 1975. We had 9% inflation in 75, with an increase to almost 14% by the time Carter left office. Unemployment was at about 8.4% on average. Not all Ford's fault, but like it or not, the President gets credit or blame for the economy whether it's warranted or not.

With Ford being blamed for all this, Reagan was seen as the party's salvation. Unfortunately, Reagan's attempt to reach out to the centrists in the party backfired, giving Ford the nomination. Thing is, most conservatives were disenchanted with Ford, and as such, stayed home on election day. The rest is regrettable history.

Now today...

We have an unpopular war, and while the Bush administration has tripped over its feet every step of the way in marketing the war, ultimately it's the same ideological group which has worked to make any military intervention on our part unpopular (except Kosovo, but that's because it was their idea). We have a Democrat-controlled Congress which is all too eager to pull our troops out and leave Iraq and Afghanistan to fend for themselves. It doesn't take much imagination to see how that could end badly for both countries. And we have conservatives turning on Bush and his administration of the war.

Bush is criticized for his unwillingness to halt illegal immigration, as is McCain. It's seen as being weak on protecting US (sovereignty, domestic, economic and cultural) interests.

And then there's the economy. While both inflation and unemployment are relatively low, both are creeping up, which is getting a fair amount of negative press. The housing market is also seen as a crisis; given that it's where most people put their money, the effects of such could be much worse than a stock market crash.

While Bush isn't running, his legacy is. McCain is probably the closest thing to a standard bearer for that legacy in terms of supporting its policies. Unfortunately, many in the GOP are disenchanted with the legacy and want anyone but McCain (despite the fact that he's locked up the nomination quite handily). I say "unfortunately" because it's to the point that many Republicans are willing to chop off the nose to spite the face, and it's a foolish position to take. Some notable commentators, like Ann Coulter, have said they would rather vote for Clinton if McCain received the nomination, presumably because McCain isn't conservative enough. Others may be thinking more strategically. Re:

The problem with this thinking is that it demands an all or nothing approach. I've always considered conservatives to be generally a pragmatic lot and that politics is more business than personal. So I find such spoilsport thinking to be quite... alien. And the reality is, if conservatives decide to stay home on election day again ala 1976, or do the insane and vote for Obama or Clinton, then if it's all or nothing they want, it's nothing they'll get and it'll be an ugly next four years.

That said, I do think Obama has this won for some of the reasons alluded to in the Muir strips. Hope sells, and Obama is perceived as being the purveyor of hope while McCain is perceived as selling fear. For the uncommited 40% swing vote--the 40% which is likely to take their news in pablum form from the MSM--Obama is the savior. Nevermind that he's been silent on his position to most issues; he's photogenic, well-spoken, and he leaves the masses with a warm gooey feeling on the inside. Sadly, that's enough for most.

I'm not a McCain kinda guy; Fred was my guy. I think the best presidents are the reluctant ones. Still, I respect McCain's service and I think he's the GOP's best candidate to capture that 40%--the best candidate to win. I think he'll make a good CINC and that he won't cut & run from Iraq and Afghanistan. He also has cordial relations with the other side of the aisle, which is necessary when you don't control Congress. And, I think he'll be fairly well received by foreign leaders, but not as warmly received as Obama. Hell, even Canada's supporting him, in a manner of speaking; "blatantly unfair." Pshaw! No, not a McCain guy, but I'll be there on election day voting for him because ultimately it's better to get something than nothing. And if you need proof of that, turn on your way-back machine and remember 1977-1981.

Perfection

NOTICE: the topic of this blog post deals with food. If you have an aversion to blog posts discussing this topic, please avert your gaze or click on the provided link. Always consult your physician before starting a regimen of reading blog posts discussing food. If you feel shortness of breath or lightheaded while reading this blog post, stop and seek immediate medical attention.

In case you hadn't noticed, the world came to an abrupt halt yesterday for three hours. It was so abrupt I thought we were all going to be thrown from the face of the planet into the icy depths of space! During that time, Starbucks took it upon itself to cease operations, forego profit and retrain their baristas (which sounds an awful lot like a Cockney barrister, but I digress) in the art of drawing the perfect espresso. This isn't small change; based on the company's 2007 revenue, most of it coming from its 7000 stores in the US, Starbucks pulls in a little over $1 million an hour, $3.50 at a time.

The problem is technology and automation. Starbucks went to automatic espresso makers about a year ago. Since then it's been trial and error just to find that Starbucks flavor that we've all grown addic... err, to love. My own mocha order started sounding like Steve Martin's in L.A. Story. "I'd like a quad venti mocha, nonfat, no whip, three pumps." While I'm sure Starbucks was looking forward to the profit acquired from its customers ordering extra shots, I bet that was offset by fewer sales as orders grew longer and more complex, all in an effort to recreate what was a pretty decent mocha to begin with.

So, I put Starbucks to the test this morning. Pulling up in the drive-thru, I engaged in the idle chit-chat with the woman manning the register. I suspect there's a company policy that tells them to do this. Still, they do it artfully. I told her it was test time... "I'd like a venti mocha." I felt as if I was forgetting something, that it couldn't be that simple, but I suppressed the urge to futz with it. I was met at the window with my customary pumpkin loaf, napkins galore, and it. The woman looked at me expectantly, as if I was going to try it right there, then followed up with "please tell us if you like it." Oh, I will, I thought in that sinister whisper voice I'm known to occasionally employ for effect. As I drove away, I nibbled on the pumpkin loaf, almost hesitant to take that first sip. Such high expectations I had. Was I being unfair?

At the first stop light, I raised my cup (made of 10% post-consumer recycled fiber) and took the first sip of the rest of my life. Hmmmmmmm... no insulin shock from the chocolate... not so strong that it puts (more) hair on my back... not acidic... it's... It's... IT'S... PERFECT! And I rejoiced--yay.

So they did it. In three short hours, Starbucks rediscovered their roots and the secret of making a decent mocha. Mostly machine-made, but what isn't?

If a weapon were made of barbeque spare ribs...

...would you eat it? :)

Man that pisses me off!

I don't think I'm prone to fits of anger, but some things just set me off. Two things that immediately come to mind are:

1. Berkeley, California

They don't call it "Bezerkely" for nuthin'. Not surprisingly, the Berkeley city council gave the Code Pink asshats a parking space out in front of the Marine Corps Officer Selection Office and in essence told them to go to town in trying to drive the Marines out of town. That's the funny thing about the anti-military types; they don't really know anything about the military. If they did, they would know the Marines don't give up ground.

Actually, that little stunt isn't what pisses me off. It's to be expected, and frankly, if Code Pink wants to protest, so be it. Not as the "useful idiots" of the Berkeley city council, mind you, but I think everyone should be given equal opportunity to speak their mind. Free speech--right on, man!

No, what pisses me off is the city council's response when the state legislature grabbed 'em by the financial short hairs and told them to knock it off. For example, take this statement made by Mayor Tom Bates.

I have heard from people all over the country regarding the action taken by the Berkeley City Council regarding the Marines recruiting center.

I bet you have.

Let me be absolutely clear that this is not about the men and women who are serving our country in our armed forces. I am a retired U.S. Army Captain and I respect the choice of those who are serving our country.

Translation: it's about the men and women serving in our armed forces--we're going to make it our mission to badger the few, the proud, the Marines who work in recruiting center into leaving Berkeley.

And, really, if you're so respectful of the choice to serve our country, why are you interfering with their ability to make this choice?

However, this community strongly opposes the war in Iraq and the foreign policy of the current administration. I believed from the beginning that this was an unjust, illegal, and immoral war of choice.

Yeah, whatever. Get in line.

A year ago, the U.S. Marines established a recruiting office within a few blocks of our local high school, community college and university. Since then, community members who oppose the war in Iraq have been exercising their free speech in protesting the presence of the Marine recruiters. Pro-war protestors have also attended to exercise their free speech rights.

That's fine and dandy, but you crossed a line, as you've been painfully made aware.

On January 28th, the Berkeley City Council took action to waive the permit fee for anti-war protestors one afternoon a week. Any group, whether pro- or anti- war, can obtain such a permit. In addition, the City Council indicated its desire for the Marine recruiting station, as a visible symbol of the war, to be relocated.

Pardon my skepticism, but somehow I doubt that. And since when is a recruiting station a "visible symbol of the war?" It's a visible symbol of the Marine Corp--the Marine Corps is not "the war," and it's that kind of 'logic' that makes nutjobs think it's ok to target "symbols."

I understand that there are people across the country that may not agree with this action but it is the Berkeley City Council's responsibility to represent the will of the people of Berkeley.

If the "will of the people" was to arrest the Marine recruiters as "war criminals," as the Code Pinkers like to call them, would you do that, Mayor Tom?

I also understand that the language proposed to the Council did not adequately differentiate our respect and support for those serving in the armed forced and our opposition to the Iraq war policy. I will be working with the Council to clarify that language at our next meeting.

Translation: please don't cut off our state and federal funding.

I hope that our country will end the war in Iraq soon and bring our troops home safely. We are truly fortunate to live in a country that can tolerate and accept a range of views and opinions.

Bullshit. If you were truly tolerant of the range of views and opinions in your 'fair' city, you wouldn't have given Code Pink a blank check to harass the Marines and their neighbors. The statement in total is disingenuous and the actions of Code Pink and the Berkeley city council are a blatant example of the utter hypocrisy of The Left.

However, my annoyance has been tempered somewhat by those stepping up to the plate to defend the Marines. I was most amused by this account. My favorite excerpts:

4:00 pm- Waterboarding time! WHoohoo! The moment ive been waiting for! They begin by talking about the waterboard and spewingout the usual propaganda how over 1000000 Iraqs died from being waterboarded by US Marines from this recruiting station. As they are going down their list of facts, it gets worse and worse. the embellished facts were so numerous, I couldnt keep up. They have this guy lay down on the board, which is correctly set up. They then announce that a military vet will perform the demonstration. He takes a dishcloth and a 1 ltr soda bottle cut lengthwise and hides the bottle under the dishcloth. he then sets the bottle/dishcloth on the guys face with the inside of the water bottle forming a protective pocket over the guys face and proceeds to pour water on the dishcloth. The guy being "boarded" begins to convulse and jerk and try to sit up but gets pushed back down by his pseudo-interrorgator. All the while the "interrorgator is yelling "are you going to answer my questions?" At this point I step into the circle and yell out in my best Marine bass tones. ."YOU'RE DOING IT WRONG!!!!! The vet looks up at me and goes "oh yea, how would you know?" I smiled at him and told him very loudly so everyone could hear, to "take the plastic bottle away from under the dishcloth and then do it!" This immediately draws a response from the guy laying on the board! He jumps up and yells out, "its just a safe demonstration of how it works!!!!" This obviously gets everyones attention including a few passerby's who begin to laugh uncontrollably! Apparently this wasnt the response that they was hoping for and decided that I should at this point become the focal point of their anger...

5:15 pm- I finally get to corner the veteran who performed the waterboarding demonstration. I ask him who he was with unitwise, mos, and his dates. His response was he was with 663rd Army in Panama, (see, this for the 663rd http://www.setaf.army.mil/663/history.htm) he was a radio operator, during his tours of early 1987 to late 1990 when he earned himself a silver star there in Desert Storm. So I asked him if he saw alot of action down there in Panama, to which he replied, "no, nothing happened the entire time I was down there". This immediately began to sound klaxons with my internal B.S. meter as I remember being in Panama in 1989 when we had to deal with Noriega. So I decided to press the subject a little bit farther and ask him where he learned the waterboarding technique then. He informed me that it was standard technique for SOF/Delta guys down there. So immediately I went into my "oh, so you went to JPAO (Joint Public Affairs Office) for your 922alpha certification ( Food Service Specialist and Food Service Technician MOS 92G / 922A.) then I assume, howd you like it?" His response was . ."it was hard, but I was a experienced Staff Nco". At this point I stated what JPAO/922a was and he should be ashamed of himself impersonating a military veteran.

Now on a more personal note...

2. Kitaros

This is (was) one of favorite restaurants. Because I'm lazy, I'll just do a copy & paste of my new and improved review.

So it's Valentine's Day and the place is packed, as you expect just about every restaurant to be. Unfortunately, law school recognizes neither love nor joy (nor hunger, for that matter) so I was unable to partake in the ritual that is Valentine's Day evening at a restaurant. But, I decided that I could do the next best thing and bring Kitaro's home. So, I find a spot at the bar, as is my custom, and fill out my sushi order only to be told they won't do carry-out because they're "too busy." Excuse me?! I could sit there at the bar, sip a Sapporro and have them serve me sushi rolls to the tune of $30, plus the cost of the beer and tip, but they won't serve me those same sushi rolls in a to-go container? I'm still paying $30 for sushi. I'm still buying a beer and paying a tip. The only difference is that I clear my spot at the bar a whole lot faster, making room for another paying customer who would otherwise leave because the place is packed. The junior associate deputy probationary bartender was very nice in light of my incredulity and asked the real bartender if this was, in fact, the policy. She even went so far as to wander off to find a manager, but such efforts are pointless. Any manager who comes up with such a ridiculously illogical policy in the first place isn't going to change it in the face of an annoyed regular, who will no longer be a regular. As the saying goes, "you can't fix stupid."

Ahh... I feel much better.

What's in an avatar?

That which we call an avatar by any other name would make me chuckle.

Hot Pocket

For Meg's education on cultural references.

Silence! I KEEL YOU!

For Scott, who misses my videos.

The Webs Reference

By not-so-popular demand, I'm expounding on the Webs reference. As some know or have suffered through, I've prattled on about Warbirds to various people at various times, usually using hyperbole like it's the best, it's so cool, it's better than sliced bread (not true). Basically, it was this MMO WW2 combat sim in which a bunch of middle-aged guys spent $2 an hour to play a video game where you got to be a combat pilot (because simulating life and death is fun!).

Looking back on this shadowy part of my past, I can't help but shudder at the thought of the small fortune I spent for the opportunity to squint at little dots on a screen surrounded by a crude facsimile of an airplane cockpit. I say that as if I'm above all that now. Hey, have you heard of Planetside? It's this MMO space combat sim. It's the best, it's so cool, it's better than sliced bread!

Any time you get a group of devotees to something, they congregate together. These congregations often stand in opposition to one another, for it's only natural that if you're simulating life and death over the skies of Europe or the Pacific, someone has to be the killer and someone has to be killed. It helps to have friends who are of the killer persuasion if you find yourself to be prey, or friends who are better at being prey than you are so the killers hunt them first. There's a life lesson somewhere in all that.

Our merry little band of Warbirds devotees included people from all over the globe. Webs, or Laurie to people who know him in real life (and I don't), hails from Montreal, Canada. Married, couple of kids, has a thing for hockey (ok, so that's a given) and teaches writing at a university level. I seem to recall he was a reasonably good "pilot," someone more of the killer persuasion, though I suspect he left our group to start his own because he was tired of having me vultch him incessantly during our Sunday "Fox Fights." ;-) Later, we played another game called Diplomacy, an online version of some board game I never heard of. Webs was England, I was Spain, and thinking old squadmates could unite and rule the world, we formed an alliance. However, what I quickly learned was that an alliance with Webs simply meant I would be the first country he stabbed in the back. Bastard! Hence all subsequent references to Webs have been in the form of Webs, Diplomacy Cheat--Bastard! ;-) Then one day I was perusing Wily's blog and followed the link to Webs' (Webs's according to Strunk & White, but that looks so wrong) and saw the cool Last FM widget. I added it to this blog, credited Webs for it, and Webs eventually found my reference, probably while looking through his traffic reports. So, visit Webs at many of his fine blogs and feel free to berate him for being a Diplomacy cheat.

* Speaking of Last FM, I changed my playlist around. Got rid of some of the 80's hard rock in favor of stuff more befitting my advanced age.

Crawling into 2008...

...gasping for air. Yes, I still have pneumonia (confirmed) and in my hypochondria, I think I might have COPD (a wild-assed guess on my part because this crap won't go away, ergo chronic and ergo some sort of pulmonary disease). *hack*

So once again I find myself not having much to say. While Kelley and Scott are off making resolutions, I'm resolving not to resolve. Ok, so maybe my house is cleaner and maybe I'm taking my meds like a good boy and maybe I don't eat red meat everyday. Maybe I'm trying to be more conscientious about my checkbook and maybe I'm trying to keep my work email inbox clean. Maybe. But those don't count as resolutions and you can't hold me to 'em.

I say "not much to say," but some of you keep coming back ever hopeful that I will. I can tell. I don't know who you are, but I can tell. In fact, people from twelve countries have paid this blog a visit in the last month. Twelve! I can explain who from Canada has paid me a visit now that Webs has found my blog. But deepest darkest Peru? Switzerland? Seven visits from the UK? Interesting.

I will endeavor to come up with something to say instead of relying on videos that catch my fancy. In the meantime, I leave you with a video that caught my fancy. Hey Bill, John... err, MCP 1299398 here. Can I have my soul back now that you're not using it?