In 6th grade I wore this in public

and thought - knew - I was cool.

Christmas Movies

Well exams are finally finished. I've been at my folks house for a couple of days now and I am settling into being a lump on a log.

In the Christmas Spirit, here are my top 5 favorite Christmas movies:

#5 - Elf
This is a new addition - I saw it for the first time about a week ago, and I've only seen it once. But, I thought it was great. I laughed out loud . . . a lot. It was a great Will Ferrel vehicle, and it did a good job mixing in the message of holiday cheer.


#4 - Scrooged

It's been too long since you watched this. This is an under appreciated classic. Take Bill Murray at what was probably the height of his comedic career and mix in the greatest Christmas story of all time, and what more could you ask for?


#3 - The Grinch Who Stole Christmas


I'm not sure any comment can do this one justice. I saw this in the last week and couldn't stop asking "Where would the world be without Dr. Seuss?"


#2 - A Charlie Brown Christmas


This year, I actually fell asleep in the middle of this. Well, maybe it was closer to the beginning. That fact not withstanding, there is no better movie to get you up and running when you are having a hard time getting in the swing of Christmas spirit.

#1 - A Christmas Story

This is THE movie, the big one, the queen-mother of Christmas movies. There is a reason TBS or TNT or whatever Turner network pulls the long straw each year runs this movie non stop for 24 hours, and there is a reason that people always tune in. That is the same reason that I got it for my family on DVD. There are too many great scenes to count - too many favorite quotes. Too many classic moments. You can walk into a room of ten people you have never met and they will all have a favorite scene, which they can quote, and they might all have different ones. But each will be unassailable in its perfection.


Merry Christmas.

First in Flight

Orville and Wilbur Wright made the first successful man-powered airplane flight, near Kitty Hawk, N.C. on this day 103 years ago.

And that is why North Carolina has the dopest license plates in the union.

attitude

The Carolina Panthers are having a terrible year on the field - but one of our best "off the field" years that I can remember.

Ours is the franchise that released one of it's wide receivers after he was arrested for murdering the woman carrying his child. About a year later, one of our ex-running backs was killed when his estranged wife blasted him in the chest with a a shot gun. No charges were filed against her because he was violating a restraining order. Later, we released one of our offensive linemen when he skipped a court date for domestic violence charges.

A special teams player of ours was released after several DUI's, including an arrest where he had pills rolling around on the floor of his car. Steve Smith once jumped a fellow player in a team meeting and broke his eye socket. Almost the entire offensive line from our superbowl has been linked with a doctor in south carolina who apparently proscribed testosterone cream - a banned substance in the NFL. Our old punter was also implicated, and after he got a dui we sent him to Denver, where he has subsequently been replaced because the team doesn't like his off the field problems.

But this year, this year we have (so far - knock on wood) not had off the field problems. This article in the Post lists arrests of NFL Players this year - is it a coincidence that 3 of the better defensive teams in the league (Bears, Chargers, Bengals) all have a lot of players who have had run-ins with the law? Maybe it takes a certain attitude to play football at a consistently high level, and that attitude also gets you into trouble. Take away the outlaws, and you take away the edge that makes the difference between good teams and the best teams.

If that is the trade that we have to make, I'm fine with it.

list available at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/sports/nfl/longterm/2006/nfl_chart_12162006.html

article available at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/15/AR2006121502134.html

Batteries not Included

These land lords better watch out, or some alien robots are gonna come down and foil their whole plan . . .

D.C. Tenants Move From Building in Fear
Owner Denies Wrongdoing in Vandalism, Threat and Arson

By Allan Lengel
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, December 10, 2006; C01

In trendy Adams Morgan, in the midst of a protracted eviction battle this fall, came the broken windows, cut electrical lines, a death threat from strangers pounding on doors and a brazen arson that caused a fleeing tenant to fall from the second story and break her leg.

The District recently ruled in the tenants' favor in the eviction fight, saying they did not have to move out while the landlord renovated the worn, three-story, gray-brick apartment building to bring it up to code. But it was too late.

By last week, all but one family had given up and moved from the 12-unit building at 1846 Vernon St. NW, a block from the bustling 18th Street entertainment strip. And that family plans to move, too.

"We were very scared to live there," said Rabia Begum, 20, a Montgomery College biomedical student who had lived in the building. "You don't know what could happen."

With a shrinking pool of affordable housing, landlords in Washington frequently urge tenants to move so they can convert apartment buildings to condominiums or, as in this case, renovate rental units. But the battle on Vernon Street between the management and tenants, most of whom are from Bangladesh, was especially ugly.

Tenants have accused management of orchestrating a campaign of fear and violence to get them to give up their rent-controlled apartments to make way for extensive renovations that ultimately would generate higher rents from new tenants.

The building's co-owner, Perseus Realty of Washington, denies any wrongdoing and suggested last week that tenants were behind the vandalism -- perhaps in search of financial gain.

full article available at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/09/AR2006120900838.html

p.s. - You get some pretty 'interesting' hits if you google "batteries not included." This is by far not the weirdest one:

hey baby, wanna get to know me?

I am a terrible party-goer when I don't know anyone at the party. I have a tendency to latch on and just hang out with a few people all night, rather than get around and talk to different people. Part of that is because I don't especially enjoy niceties and would rather engage in more in-depth conversations with people. But of course, a bigger part of that is because I am not at all an extrovert - the two are surely related.

So this morning on NPR Steve Inskeep did a piece on Jeanne Martinet, author of The Art of Mingling. Of particular note for those of you who happen to get trapped in a corner over by the hors d'oeuvres with me (so you can't even use "getting a bite to eat" as an excuse to leave) are her methods of escaping a conversation:

The human sacrifice: Where you escape a boring conversation by grabbing some other poor guest and throwing him into the conversation in your place.

The smooth escape: This is for getting out in the middle of someone's long arduous and boring story when it would be rude to just leave in the middle. It involves three steps: (1) Take control of the conversation (i.e. interrupt and respond to an irrelevant detail of their story) , (2) change the subject, (3) then make your break.

Read more and listen to the story here: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6595823


on the iPod:
Super XX Man, Vol. XI : A Better Place

think you're having a bad day?

This actually happened to me in Boston - summer 99. It's true.

MeTube

So maybe I'm a little slow on the uptake, but I haven't really "gotten" YouTube - until now. Here are two precious performances that you & I probably never would have seen otherwise.

Howlin Wolf (Note that one of the guys who posted a comment noted that he had never heard of Howlin Wolf until Taylor Hicks turned him on to him - who wudda thunk it?)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dF51597U7Xs

or this video of CSNY playing Neil's "Down by the River" (which I found thanks to Aquarium Drunkard)
http://youtube.com/watch?v=yYZ50PjDTi8


I'm sure there are tons more of gems out there. Now, if only I could load these videos onto my iPod.

this just warms the heart

I don't even know where to begin with this one. . .

Gatlin, banned from track, works out for Texans

The Houston Texans worked out the world's fastest man, Justin Gatlin, on Tuesday, but that doesn't mean he's making a fast entrance into the NFL.

The Texans didn't make a big deal out of the Tuesday visit. They looked at Gatlin like they did two other receivers: Kevin McMahan of Maine and Jovan Witherspoon of Central Michigan. NFL teams usually bring in players for Tuesday workouts while the 53 players on the regular roster take a day off.

In April, he tested positive for the banned substance testosterone and accepted an eight-year ban from track and field.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2679967

I'm actually a little conflicted here - the guy is only 24, obviously made a huge mistake, and should be given a second chance. You can't just tell him to never be an athlete again; that is what he does. But he put his entire career on the line by cheating in track - an 8 year ban is essentially forever. That is some risky behavior, especially when he could just take the undetectable stuff that Balco sells.


The Olympics have been in a downward spiral ever since Katerina Witt hung up her skates, but I'm pissed that we can't even keep the one good memory that came out of Greece.

What if Keri Strug had turned out to be on the juice?

Or what if that Dominique girl in the foreground of this picture ended up freaking out and rebelling from her parents who were whoring her out for endorsement money and getting legally emancipated at the age of 15?

What? Oh yeah, that did happen didn't it? I got it confused with an old Law & Order re-run.

on the iPod:
Phish, Billy Breathes

file sharing

I'm not sure why I never heard of this before - maybe it is new - but www.savefile.com lets you post files, and then gives you a link to share with your friends. That means you can expect to see me posting music some time in the future.

straight to hell

It always shocks me when people don't know who Kevin Kinney is. He was the front man for Drivin & Cryin and remains one of the better contemporary song writers.

What? Oh yeah - a lot of people don't remember Drivin & Cryin either. The title track from Fly Me Courageous was all over the radio back in the mid 90s. Despite popular success, the record is one of the best from the decade.


Drivin & Cryin still gets together from time to time - with annual Thanksgiving shows in Atlanta and an appearance on Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Gimmie Three Days" cruise.

Kinney's song Straight to Hell (just like my mama said) was an anthem for teenagers across the south who probably never even stopped to listen to the actual lyrics.

So I walk on down to the parking lot,
hang around with all my friends,
and roam the streets til dawn breaks again
I come in at five a.m. and she is waiting for me
She said where have you been, I said I was out,
She said you're no good cause you're running without love

Cause I'm going straight to hell
Just like my momma said
I'm going straight to hell

parking cars

Finding a parking spot in my neighborhood can be a real pain, so it is especially infuriating to see cars that are parked in two spaces. Sometimes this happens in spaces with lines painted on, but usually it happens when someone parallel parks where there s room for two cars, but doesn't pull up or back and just stays in the middle, with a half space in front and a half space in back. That does me a lot of good when I want to park there too.

I used to assume that these people were so concerned about their brand new BMW SUVs getting a mark on the bumper, that they took measures to keep other cars away. My idea for a remedy was to keep a broom stick handle in my car and smash out their tail lights. If you are gonna freak out about other cars touching your bumper, you need to live somewhere where you have a driveway or garage or parking space. If you live in the city and use on-street parking, people will tap you with their cars.

BUT - I have noticed that it is not just the prissy luxury cars that do this, so I have modified my theory: People are just idiots and don't know that they should pull all the way into one spot so that other people can park in the other spot. One option for a remedy that was suggested to me is to leave a note on their windshield - in lipstick. That is a good idea, but might take too long. Instead, I am thinking about ordering some of these and sticking them on the windows - or maybe on the paint so that I will also piss off the prissy people who park like that on purpose.

Here are my ideas:

Right Now

Remember Pepsi Clear? I actually liked that stuff - but then again I was 15, so I would have fallen for any gimmick.

One gimmick I did not fall for was the Van Halen commercial - the song was super pop, but the video was interesting, and the sell-out was absolute. Of course, that presupposes that Van Halen had any original fight the power real rock and roll soul left in them by the time OU812 was released and they settled into the Van Haggar years.


At any rate, I have always thought the lyric was "right now, there's no tomorrow" and then "right now, it's everything" (emphasizing that we should live in the moment) .

Today, I looked up the lyrics on a random inspiration and, at least according to lyrics freak, the real words are "right now, it's your tomorrow"

That really changes everything.

Seasons Change

No, not the hit single by Exposé, although you can watch that video here.

I mean that each year, the seasons are different - and this year Christmas really has come early. No, not in the form of presents to me, but in the form of skipping Thanksgiving all together and going straight for the commercial kill. I have gotten fliers advertising toys - clearly for Christmas. Starbucks is pushing its "Holiday Roast." Someone at school was walking down the hall yesterday whistling "White Christmas." The Salvation Army guy is already posted up at the grocery store ringing his bell - which seems to have gotten smaller and emits a higher pitched more ear splitting ring than the old ones.


It's still warm out - well, sometimes. We have had days in the mid 60s in the last week. Can we just enjoy where we are and look forward to the gluttonous all-american tradition of celebrating all that we have by gorging ourselves on enough food to make ourselves pop before we move on to the next all-american tradition of super-hyped consumerism where we show how much we care about each other by spending money on pre-fabbed materialism?

on the iPod:
Wilco, Live at William & Mary, 4/22/06

Quote of the Day

“The shells themselves are made of different materials, a barrier shell, that is relatively much more impermeable.” Dr. Scott L. Spear, the chief of plastic surgery at Georgetown University who has conducted clinical research for Allergan of Irvine, Calif., describing new silicone breast implants approved by the FDA and available for you use on Monday.

My first thought, well - maybe my second thought - upon reading that the FDA has approved silicone breast implants and dismissed earlier safety concerns was "wow - Dow Corning must be pissed." But, it looks like they emerged from bankruptcy ok and have a spiffy website up and running, so I guess that whole "class action" thing is in their past.

The more I read the article, and the more I reminded myself that this FDA is part of the Bush administration, the more skeptical I became. And then I came to today's Quote of the Day, and other comments that 70% of implants rupture and that women should only assume that their implants are safe for 3 years, after which they need to have regular MRIs. If you are gonna put a plastic bag in your body and fill it up with liquid, wouldn't you want it to be close to the fluids that are already there? Silicone? Forget about it - you might as well have kerosene implants as far as I'm concerned.

As is rightfully pointed out by "Dr. Sidney Wolfe, chief of Public Citizen’s Health Research Group. . . 'The approval makes a mockery of the legal standard that requires ‘reasonable assurance of safety.’ ”

At any rate, someone needs to send Dr. Scott L. Spear over at Georgetown a dictionary. American Heritage Dictionary defines 'Impermeable' as "impossible to permeate" - as in, nothing can get through; zero; zilch; nada. Something can't be more impermeable, more impossible. It is impossible for me to fly - but is it more impossible for me to fly in outer-space?

As if that wasn't enough, he even qualifies the "more impermeable" with "relatively." I guess that means that the new implants are more "more impermeable" that some things, but less "more impermeable" than others?

full article at http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/18/washington/18breast.html
read more at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/17/AR2006111701246.html

G6

This weekend I drove a Pontiac G6. Probably the best thing about the car is its super sweet name. "G6" - that just sounds cool.

The G6 is supposed to be a sports sedan or something like that. I guess it is made for people who have to get bigger cars for practical reasons, but wish they didn't. To me, creating something in between a sedan and a sports car means that you have a sports car that is too big and clunky (although it did have nice pick-up, esp. for a rental car) and you have a sedan with a terribly stiff ride.

In the tradition of Pontiac, there was nothing special about the interior. It did feel relatively open & the lay-out of the controls was fairly convenient and easy to reach etc. I've always wondered why so many cars have the button for rear defrost in completely nonsensical places, and apparently the engineers behind the G6 wondered the same thing - the button for the rear defrost is right by the other buttons & knobs for the rest of the climate control. Of course, this is probably not a good reason to buy the car.

The drivers seat was fairly comfortable, a conclusion based on about 10 hours of driving in 2 days - but the passenger seat was not. The drivers seat had adjustable height; the passenger seat did not. The drivers seat had adjustable lumbar support; the passenger seat had none.

I like driving, and I like driving all sorts of cars - from my 81 Volvo 242 (which is on its retirement tour) to minivans, Chrysler 300s, and trucks - whatever. I did not particularly enjoy driving the G6, and it did not seem to be especially practical.

>> After drafting the preceding text, I went on Washington Post. com to see if Warren Brown has ever reviewed this car. He has. This is what he said (back in 2004 about the 2005 model - the car I drove had 4k miles, so it is probably an 06):

"Pontiac should drop the base G6-6 Cylinder. It is the kind of automobile car-rental companies buy because it's the cheapest model in the lineup. The rental companies then advertise that they have the "all-new Pontiac G6!" Excited customers take that bait only to find out that they're renting a base, marginally enjoyable car."

Go figure. The rest of the review is available here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2004/10/10/AR2005032405082.html


on the iPod:
nothing - Radio Paradise today:
8:56 am - Chuck Berry - Nadine
8:53 am - A Band of Bees - A Minha Menina
8:50 am - Tom Waits - Clap Hands
8:45 am - Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Supernaturally
8:38 am - Guster - Ruby Falls

---

8:33 am - Neko Case - Star Witness
8:28 am - Paul Simon - Slip Slidin' Away
8:24 am - Chris Smither - Link of Chain
8:21 am - Ellen McIlwaine - Up From the Skies
8:17 am - Jimi Hendrix - Rainy Day, Dream Away

Bling-Blaow!

the mack daddy pimp belt:

"Bling-Blaow! This LED Name Digital Belt Buckle is like having a piece of the future on your waist. Be one of the first people to floss this new LED Belt Buckle. You can put up to 256 characters on it.

Wanna make a statement? WELL BRING IT ON! Write whatever you want and let it scroll across the screen! Your name , your number, your hood! Stand out in the club without a bottle of bubb. Scroll on playa.




disclaimer: I have no affiliation with, nor do I endorse, Iced Out Gear dot com

quote of the day

"If the [law] be clear, we are bound to conform to it even though we do not comprehend the principle upon which it is founded."

From Commonwealth v. Pullis, the first American criminal prosecution for conspiracy against striking shoemakers in 1806.

the next Dubya

The "macaca" quote is old hat, but check out some other Senator (for now) George Allen quotes:

"Stay strong for freedom . . . and accuracy in elections will prevail." Do the terrorists hate our recounts? (Speaking to his supporters when it became apparent that the only way for him to win would be after a recount.)

"When we get to the future, I'll determine the future" And I thought being the Decider was a good gig! (Replying to a question about his presidential aspirations.)

source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/07/AR2006110701844.html

The Carolinas

This is why people from North Carolina don't like it when you get us confused with people from South Carolina:

South Carolina governor's goof delays his vote

SULLIVAN'S ISLAND, South Carolina (CNN) -- A sheepish Gov. Mark Sanford was turned away from a South Carolina polling place Tuesday because he forgot his voter registration card.

The casting of ballots in front of the news media is a well-worn tradition for politicians, but it was no Kodak moment when Sanford discovered he had left his card behind.

Off camera, South Carolina first lady Jenny Sanford could be heard telling her husband that she had reminded him to bring it. (Watch his wife's stunned reaction -- 2:09)

Eventually, the poll manager at Sullivan's Island Elementary School politely told the governor that he couldn't vote unless he had a registration card.

The first lady's identification was in order, and she was allowed to vote, said poll manager Bob Crawford, according to The Associated Press.

Later, Sanford told reporters that his card was in the capital, Columbia, but he planned to obtain a replacement immediately so he could cast a ballot.

"We had the number, we could read it over the phone, but as a credit to the poll manager, she said that ain't enough -- you've got to have the card," the governor said. "I'll vote here shortly."

Sanford said he admired the poll manager for being conscientious.

His office later said the governor had returned to the polling station and successfully voted.

According to the South Carolina State Elections Commission's Web site, voters can obtain a duplicate registration card -- even on Election Day -- if their card is lost or stolen.

The Republican is expected to win his bid for re-election against Democratic state Sen. Tommy Moore.

Sanford has had a tough few days.

Bright stage lights injured his eyes on Sunday, forcing him to skip campaigning on Monday to go to the doctor and recuperate, AP reported.

Sanford's eyes were red and watery as he stood in line at the voting site on Tuesday, but he told AP, "It's behind me and the prognosis is good."

Copyright 2006 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report.

available at http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/11/07/sanford.votes/index.html

Andy Rooney

In case you missed 60 Minutes last night, this is what Andy Rooney had to say (of course, if you are thinking to yourself "what kind of flaming liberal watches 60 Minutes when O'Riley is on, then you are probably the exact person who this is aimed at, and you are also the kind of person who thinks Andy Rooney hates our freedom):

"There's a silent little war going on in this country. It's between people who wear the American flag in their buttonhole and people who do not.

(Footage of various politicians with American flag pin on lapels; flag pin; political debate; photos of President Bush; photos of President Bush's father; footage of President Bush when he was governor; photo of Harry Truman; photo of John F. Kennedy; photo of Dwight Eisenhower; photo of Richard Nixon; photo of woman; photo of Condoleezza Rice; photo of Senator Charles Schumer; photo of Oprah Winfrey with woman; footage of American flag)

Mr. ROONEY: (Voiceover) Every night on the evening news, you see people, politicians mostly, being interviewed or giving speeches wearing a little metal American flag. Are are they suggesting they love America more than I do?

If a politician running for office has an opponent who wears a flag, he usually thinks he has to wear one, too. Afraid people might say he isn't as patriotic as his opponent is.
President Bush always wears an American flag. Would we think he was un-American if he didn't? His father wore one sometimes, didn't wear one other times. I think politicians wearing the American flag is a fairly new phenomenon. Politicians weren't wearing them as much just a few years ago, not as much as they are now. President Bush didn't wear one when he was governor of Texas. I don't remember seeing Harry Truman, John F. Kennedy or Dwight Eisenhower wearing one. We did come across a picture of Richard Nixon in the '70s wearing a flag. Maybe he started it.

I've always wondered if a politician who wears a flag when the cameras are rolling wears one on Saturdays when he's home alone in his old clothes. Or is he only patriotic in public?
Women politicians don't seem to use the flag as decoration like men do. Maybe that's because they have no good place to hang a flag or they don't want to put a hole in their dress with a pin.

I suppose it isn't a very popular opinion I have, but I don't like to see a politician or anyone else for that matter wearing an American flag. Using the flag as decoration is demeaning to a great symbol. The American flag may be the best symbol ever designed. It's perfect. It represents our current 50 states and the 13 original colonies. It's both attractive and meaningful, and it stands for who we are. That's a lot to ask of a piece of cloth. And the American flag does it magnificently. It should not be used as a bumper sticker.

traveling gnomes

If you were essentially a one hit wonder band with a loyal, although small, devoted fan base and you struck it big earning a gold record with your most radio friendly single, what would you do with it? I mean the record - you know you actually get a gold record when your record goes gold, although I am not sure that it is made out of real gold. Presumably you don't get real platinum records when you go platinum, but it sure would be a lot cooler if you did. OK - so hold that thought. You would take your Gold Record - the one sign of popular success after all those nights playing in smoky dive bars with people more interested in the video poker machine than they were in your music - and you would do _____ with it.

OK - now imagine that you are a ragged out fan of a do nothing band that made it big with one hit single, and all of a sudden the same posers from school who used to make fun of you for listening to weird indy california fruity music are the guys showing up with brand new t-shirts from the band and cranking the same hit radio single out of their never-seen-the-mud rag top jeep with brush guards that daddy bought them for their 16th birthday. You tough it out, knowing that your band would never really sell out - it was just the big music industry moguls polluting the essence of the music's soul. And sure enough, a few later when the band is mentioned most often as the answer in Trivia on tuesday nights at at the local bar & grill, the band is still appreciative for its loyal fans who stuck with them. So one night, one of the band members has some fans over at his house and they are playing fooseball in his garage . . .

Well, if the band was Toad the Wet Sprocket and you were drummer Randy Guss, you would but the Gold Record on the line. And if you were the fan that won the gold record, you would travel the world uniting Toad fans and start this website:

http://www.toadgold.com/

FYI - Toad was on tour this summer. If you are so inclined, you can check out their official website at http://www.toadthewetsprocket.com/

Quote of the Day

“When I see someone wearing headphones in the New York City Marathon, I feel sorry for them,” Mr. Solarz said. “They don’t even know what they are missing. The hoots, the hollers, all the bands, the excitement. When else can a skinny white guy wearing little shorts run in Harlem and get cheers?”

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/02/fashion/02fitness.html

Smoking Hot Dogs

Apparently this Friday at 7:00 there will be more going on than you rewinding your cd's and re-laceing your shoes. Oh yeah - the Smokin' Hot Dogs of Frankfort High School in Frankfort IN will take their four game winning streak into the Hamilton Heights Huskies' house looking to avenge last years loss in the championship game. The Huskies, for their part, haven't lost a sectional game in 5 years.

In celebration of the game, cafeteria lunch will be:

Foot Long Hot Dog
Baked Beans
Fruit
Frito Lay Chips

Should be a barn burner.

Smoking Hot Dogs stand in Huskies' way

Frankfort has won 4 in a row; Heights takes shot at 5th straight title.

By Ted Schultz

November 2, 2006

The streak stands at 14 and counting.

It was five years ago this week that Hamilton Heights last lost a sectional football game. The Huskies are one win away from their 15th straight sectional victory and their fifth straight title going into Friday's 7 p.m. battle with Frankfort.

"This will be an emotional game," Heights coach Steve Stirn said. "Like always, a good start will be an advantage for the team that gets out of the gate quickly."

Last year's sectional championship came down to these two teams, and the Huskies (8-3) prevailed 35-21.

"Last year's game with Frankfort was a contrast in style, but it was a great game," Stirn said. "This year's game appears to be very similar. They are playing with a high level of confidence."

The Hot Dogs (7-3) have won four in a row following a 3-3 start. They went on the road and blanked West Lafayette 28-0 last week after receiving a first-round bye.

Heights and Frankfort have played two common opponents. The Hot Dogs opened the season with a 28-6 win over Western and a 26-7 loss at Twin Lakes. The Huskies lost at Western 21-20 in Week 8, downed Twin Lakes 21-14 the first round of the sectional and avenged the loss to Western with a 13-3 win last week.

Heights is a team that usually throws about as much as it runs, but in the rain and mud last week, ran 48 times and threw six.

"We have smart kids that understand the game of football. Ross Eckart, our center, is very intelligent. (Quarterback) Justin (Boser) is smart on and off the field. That had a lot to do with it," Stirn said. "They kept their poise, and they understood the conditions that we played in."

Frankfort doesn't throw the ball much. Tyler Brown has completed 15-of-32 passes for 215 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions.

Ben Kelly has carried 188 times for 1,234 yards and 18 scores, and C.J. Smith has 129 carries for 659 yards and four touchdowns. Kaleb Thompson has caught four passes for 121 yards and two scores, and Smith has five catches for 85 yards and a touchdown.

Kelly leads the Hot Dog defense with 102 tackles.

"Frankfort appears to be very physical with outstanding speed," Stirn said. "Frankfort will use an offense that is not conventional, just effective. They will use a very tightly bunched formation. Defensively, they will use multiple alignments and stunts to keep us off balance and to cause hesitation."

Full article at: http://www.thenoblesvilleledger.com/articles/7/079682-1567-094.html

play it all night long

"Grandpa pissed his pants again
He don't give a damn
Brother Billy has both guns drawn
He ain't been right since Vietnam"

Tonight is the first late night of the semester. It won't be the last. There is a certain tranquility in the overcaffienated haze that sets in around 2:19 in the am when you are typing away, digging out some really good quotes, and then mid-sentence you look up and realize you have no idea what your point is or what you were trying to say.

But you are working hard, and that is what counts. . . . right?

"Daddy's doing Sister Sally
Grandma's dying of cancer now
The cattle all have brucellosis
We'll get through somehow"

Apparently there are some elections going on, and everyone thinks they are going to win. I only really know that because last night when I tried to take th eevening and enjoy myself watching football I was subjected to the same lame negative political add at almost every single commercial break. The other guy didn't run a single add - I;m not sure if that means that he thinks he has it in the bag, is totally screwed, or is simply more in touch with the fact that the demographic watching Sunday Night Football is not exacty "likely to vote."

I probably would have been annoyed that this guy kept butting into my evening with the same lame political commercial, but I was too busy being annoyed at my football team as they proceeded to make every mistake imaginabe en-route to giving up 35 unanswered points and getting embarassed on national tv.

Of course, that also meant that I had to wear my team t-shirt today. There is nothing more annoying than front-running fans, and for some reason last year with the Steelers in the Superbowl was even worse than normal. All of a sudden everyone was breaking out their sweatshirts etc. I wear my gear when we lose. The team doesn't need my support when we win.

"Sweet home Alabama"
Play that dead band's song
Turn those speakers up full blast
Play it all night long

on the iPod:
The Drive By Truckers, 10/26/06, Cannery Ballroom, Nashville, TN
(covering Warren Zevon)

changing expectations

you'd think that if I am only posting here once a week (or less) that I could come up with some kind of original material - instead, I will just let you enjoy the begining of this article from today's Washington Post:

Bush's New Tack Steers Clear of 'Stay the Course'

By Peter Baker
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, October 24, 2006; A01

President Bush and his aides are annoyed that people keep misinterpreting his Iraq policy as "stay the course." A complete distortion, they say. "That is not a stay-the-course policy," White House press secretary Tony Snow declared yesterday.

Where would anyone have gotten that idea? Well, maybe from Bush.

"We will stay the course. We will help this young Iraqi democracy succeed," he said in Salt Lake City in August.

"We will win in Iraq so long as we stay the course," he said in Milwaukee in July.

"I saw people wondering whether the United States would have the nerve to stay the course and help them succeed," he said after returning from Baghdad in June.

But the White House is cutting and running from "stay the course." A phrase meant to connote steely resolve instead has become a symbol for being out of touch and rigid in the face of a war that seems to grow worse by the week, Republican strategists say. Democrats have now turned "stay the course" into an attack line in campaign commercials, and the Bush team is busy explaining that "stay the course" does not actually mean stay the course.

full article at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/23/AR2006102301053.html

on the iPod:

The Clash, London Calling

Jamie Cullum, Twentysomething

swimmin

If you check your voicemail while going to the bathroom, you might drop your phone in the toilet. You can wash your hand after reaching in, but your phone will probably still be broken.

Cardtoons

Anyone remember these? When they were printed, did anyone tink they would be leading teams in the 2006 LCS? Even if you would have beleived it, would you have beleived it would be the Tigers & the Mets?

Where's the Beef?

"Neutral-seeming ads influence people's social and political attitudes, and themselves arouse political controversy. "Where's the Beef?" turned from an advertising catchphrase into the only really memorable thing about the 1984 presidential campaign. Four years later, Michael Dukakis called George Bush "the Joe Isuzu of American politics.""

White v. Samsung Elec. Am., Inc., 989 F.2d 1512, 1520 (9th Cir. 1993) (Kozinski, J. dissenting)

typographical error #2

if you hit the "y" instead of the "u" when spelling "antitrust" you get "antitryst"

how old are you?

Do you remember when Listerine was advertised as a cold remedy? Me neither - the Federal Trade Commission made them stop the 100 year old campaign in 1977.

FYI - Excepting the new flavors, Listerine's formula has not been changed since 1879.

mix it up

My iTunes library is up to 554 albums by 267 artists taking up just under 50GB of hard drive and constituting 27.6 days of continuous music. Granted, 101 of those albums and 25GB of the memory is devoted to live WSP I pulled down from Digital Panic . org. But still, that only counts for 8 days of music (while I do convert the songs to mp4, I use a higher sample rate, so the files are about twice as big as traditional mp3s)

Needless to say, this is really an unmanageable amount of music. There are hours and hours - probably days - worth of music that I have never listened to since I got my iPod last January.

And that, I assume, is why Apple invented the shuffle function. Here's the song list that I got this morning:

Freak Mama, Mudhoney & Sir Mixalot, Judgment Night Soundtrack
Stop Go, WSP, 6/28/96
Horn, Nick Drake, Pink Moon
L.A., WSP, 6/22/01
Dr. Butcher, Psycho-Possum, Assorted Fruit Flavors (Ghostmeat Records compilation)
Come Closer, Porter Davis, Bootleg Series Vol. 1
You Could Be Mine, Guns & Roses, Live Era '87-'93

fear germs

I was at the grocery store the other day and right beside the entrance, next to the carts, was a "disinfectant wipes" dispenser, and a diagram of a hand wiping down the handle of a shopping cart. Seriously. I don't know about you, but my brother and I grew up going to the grocery store with my mom and we pushed & rode in the cart and to my knowledge she never used a disinfectant wipe to wipe down the cart. She probably let us eat the free cookies without giving our hands a bath in Purell. Both of us have turned out pretty well - there might be some argument about that, but at least we are not sickly people, we never contracted a life threatening disease from the grocery cart or got sick from some germs on our hands.

Nevertheless, now that this amazing new technology is available, I'm sure parents everywhere will be going that extra mile to shop at the grocer that has disinfectant wipes for the carts.

typographical error

if you leave the "i" out of "arise," it spells "arse"

come on ride that train

I'm trying to get back on the horse - to get some kind of momentum generated to post here on a basis more regular than once in however often I feel like it.

This weekend I wrapped up the Great Wedding Tour of 2006, which started on August 12th in Charlotte and wrapped up on Sept 23rd in Cranberry Lake NY, with dates in Vermont, Atlanta, and Germantown MD.

It should be fairly self-evident, but somehow it seems that people continue to get wrapped up in the wrong things. Every wedding I went to was different, and every one had its own vibe - but they were all magical. Some were big formal affairs, some we smaller, and some were in between. One wedding I went to had a traditional Jewish ceremony and another included a naming ceremony and presentation of the couple's baby to the world. Some were destination weddings, some were at hotels, some were at lodges, some were in museums. Some had full open bars, one had a couple kegs and red & white wine. Some had full service meals, some had buffets, and some had family style platters at each table.

But they all had the only element that is really necessary to make a good wedding - the couples were in love and the friends and family were excited. Don't go to weddings for the food or the desert or the drink or whatever - go there to celebrate in whatever way the bride and groom want you to celebrate. Share in their enthusiasm and share in their wonder. Listen to the service and remember your vow to support their marriage when times are tough.

And when you plan your wedding, let it reflect your own enthusiasm and your own wonder and your own love and remember that the people who love you will have fun no matter what you do.

lunch?

Legal quote of the Day

When special interests claim that they have obtained favors from Congress, a court should ask to see the bill of sale. Special interest laws do not have "spirits," and it is inappropriate to extend them to achieve more of the objective the lobbyists wanted. . . . What the industry obtained, the courts enforce; what it did not obtain from the legislature--even if similar to something within the exception--a court should not bestow. . . . Recognition that special interest legislation enshrines results rather than principles is why courts read exceptions . . . with beady eyes and green eyeshades.

Chicago Professional Sports Ltd. Partnership v. National Basketball Ass'n, 961 F.2d 667, 671-672 (7th Cir. 1992) (Easterbrook, J.)

cash flow

"[bin Laden] understood that one tool he had in waging war against the United States was to drive us crazy, into bankruptcy, trying to defend ourselves against every conceivable threat,” Mr. Chertoff said at a hearing of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. “We have to be realistic about what we expect and what we do. We do have limits, and we do have choices to make.” From http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/13/washington/13chertoff.html

I sure am happy people are starting to realize that we cannot be absolutely safe no matter how much we spend, or that even if we could, it would not be worth the sacrifice.

The next step is realizing that we cannot be absolutely safe no matter how many of our civil liberties we give up - no matter how much they tap our phones and watch our bank accounts. More importantly, the incremental increase in safety is not worth the sacrifice.

shoping carts

I can't stand it when people puch their grocery cart out to their car and then just leave it sitting there in the parking lot. Is it really that hard to push it back? Then, of course, people push them most of the way back but leave them sitting on the sidewalk or curb. So what do people entering the grocery store do? Do they grab one of those carts and shop with it? Hell no. They walk by about 8 carts that are outside - they weave through a veritable obstacal course of shopping carts, and then grab a new one out of the stack of carts just inside the door.

These are probably the same people who refuse to bag their own groceries.

fashion sense

We had a dress code at my highschool that prevented us from wearing pretty much any cool clothes that highschool kids like to wear. No t-shirts of any kind, much less a perfectly faded black Led Zeppelin t-shirt with the Swan Song logo on it.


. . . So one of the ways we would "beat" the dress code was to wear these types of t-shirts under a white or thin dress shirt so that the t-shirt graphic would show through. (incidentally, we would also go to school "crossed out" with our clothes on backwards - but that is neither here nor there).

Right now, as I sit in class, there is a guy at the front of the room wearing a dress shirt with a logo t-shirt underneath.... only rather than Led Zeppelin or The Doors, I can see the "Haliburton" logo showing through.

That pretty much sums up my school.

Little Things, pt. 5

Of the many developments in technology in the world, one that goes under appreciated is the advecement of trash-bag science.

There is nothing worse than having an over stuffed trash bag that is too weak and when you try to tie off the top, it rips. Rememer twisty-ties? This things that you used to have to wrap around the top of the bag to keep it closed? Across america there are small town that sprouted up around twisty-tie factories, and now they law desolate and unemployed, praying for a Wal Mart call center to move in because now we have not only moved into the Cinch-Sack world with draw-strings built into the bag itself, but we have Flex-Force.

Discover a revolutionary trash bag that redefines strength. GLAD ForceFlex® trash bags are actually stronger because they stretch.
The bag has a unique diamond texture that stretches around objects to help prevent rips and tears, so you can fill it, stretch it and stuff it with just about anything.
Available varieties: Drawstring, Quick-Tie® and Odor Shield®

There are some things that just make life easier - that are worth spending a little more money on. When I saw the box of 70 bags on sale at Target, I jumped on the babies. You can stuff them full of broken coat-hangers, and it will stand strong. Taking the trash out sucks enough, so go ahead and spend a little more on the good bags.

The rest is basic economics.

When I was a teenager, I don't remember a huge distinction between the people who where having sex, and the people who were having oral sex. One eventually led to the other. No one I knew was getting into either when they were twelve.

"When the price of Coca-Cola rises, rational cola-lovers drink more Pepsi. When the price of penetrative sex rises, rational teenagers seek substitutes. Perhaps we shouldn't be surprised that even as the oral-sex epidemic rages, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that the percentage of teenage virgins has risen by more than 15 percent since the beginning of the 1990s. Those who are still having sex have switched to using birth-control methods that will also protect them from sexually transmitted infections. Use of the contraceptive pill is down by nearly a fifth, but use of condoms is up by more than a third. The oral-sex epidemic is a rational response to a rise in the price of the alternative."

Full article at http://www.slate.com/id/2148583/nav/tap2/

The New Addition

I have finally, and inexcusably tardily, added my buddy Eric Martinez ("G") to the "music you should know" list at right. Check out his myspace page, and look for G on a forthcoming album with Daniel Hutchins titled "Love Songs for Losers."

on the iPod:
still nothing, although I am looking forward to cranking WSP 10/31/96, which I am currently pulling down off digitalpanic.org

oatmeal

Oatmeal for breakfast and oatmeal in my brain. I have been trying to keep up with this and reward you for checking back every so often, but I am flailing a bit.

It's not so much that I haven't had any bolg-worthy thoughts; I actually recall thinking 2 or 3 times yesterday "hmm, that would make a good blog post." It's just that I can't remember what t was that I was thinking.

I have too much going on. At least I think I do.

on the iPod:
nothing, but I have been pulling down a butt load of live Widespread Panic and a few other bands from a bittorrent site. Bittorrent is cool.

Legal Quote of the Day

"Men cannot always, in civilized society, be allowed to use their own property as their interests or desires may dictate without reference to the fact that they have neighbors whose rights are as sacred as their own. The existence and well-being of society require that each and every person shall conduct himself consistently with the fact that he is a social and reasonable person. "

Tuttle v. Buck, 107 Minn. 145, 149 (Minn. 1909)

why pretend?

I was at the grocery store today grabbing some granola bars and I looked up to see "Quaker Breakfast Cookies." Really? I don't even know what to do with this one.

Perhaps not suprisingly, a the first three Google hits are all blogs:
The Impulsive Buy
Cheap Eats
Junk Food Blog

The corporate cite has this to say:

"Quaker® Breakfast Cookies

Help yourself to a soft-baked cookie made with whole grain Quaker oats. Plus, there are real pieces of delicious fruit in every bite!

Quaker goodness in every cookie:

Made with Whole Grain Oatmeal
Good Source of Fiber
Excellent Source of Calcium & Iron
0g Trans Fat
9 Vitamins and Minerals"

http://www.quakersnackbars.com/CHW_Products/BreakfastCookies/

. . . and these things are endorsed by www.singlemom.com, because what could be better than saving some time by slinging a breakfast cookie down your kid's throat as you send him out the door with a homemade tang-wich for lunch.

Well, I gotta run make myself a dinner milkshake.

the last time

Today is the first day of classes, which means that yesterday was the last day of summer - and both are the last time I will have those. After this year, I will be done with school and into the working world (hopefully).

I still remember - although not clearly - when I was a little boy and I asked my dad why he didn't get summer vacation.

I also remember when Davis Love III won the PGA Championship (before Tiger-mania had taken over).


"It took Davis Love III 11 long, frustrating seasons to finally achieve his moment in the sun; and then, just a little while longer through the rain that pelted Winged Foot during his closing holes on Sunday.

In one of the most moving moments in golf history, as the man so often described as the best player never to have won a major, walked his final fairway at the 79th PGA Championship, on a course called the toughest they would ever play, the storm clouds actually parted. The sun beamed down again. And not one, but two rainbows settled majestically over his head.

"I tried not to look," Love said. "Everybody was yelling, 'Look at the rainbow! Look at the rainbow!' It was hard to keep my composure those last few holes, much less think about my dad. But it was very neat, and I hope there's a great picture of that, with those two rainbows overhead as I was putting out."

His brother and caddy, Mark Love, was helping Davis stay fixated on golf.

"We were trying to not think about it until we got it done," Mark Love said. "We were trying to not think about that rainbow until we finished the last hole."

Believe what you will, but who would dare doubt that Davis' late father had a hand on his son's shoulder, steadying him, guiding this enormous step. Davis Love Jr. was a golf pro who gave his son his name, his game and so much of his inspiration even after perishing in a plane crash nine years ago.

"I told Davis, 'Dad knows.' And he said, 'Yes, I know,' " said Love's mother, Penta Love. "So, yeah, he was along all the way."

In that sense, Love said the final round of his first major victory was no different from any other day he plays.

"It's hard to explain, and maybe that's not right," Love said. "But this win is an accumulation of a lot of hard work from a lot of people. My dad didn't want anything out of my golf game except for me to do my best. And I think his influence is great for me every day."

That Love's best came at Winged Foot made it even more special. It is one of the great and historic courses in the world, where even par was considered an achievement, but where Love managed to reach 11-under, turning back the reigning British Open champion, Justin Leonard, at every turn.

"This is just a perfect golf course for me," Love said. "It sets up great. The way the rough was around the greens, it just played right into my hands. I knew if I could be patient, I could win."

Full story at http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/golf/pga/news/1997/08/18/love_huber/index.html

crusin'

After spending 20 hours on the highway over the last 10 days, I think all cars should have their drivers' cell numbers posted on the bumper.

I also think everyone would be a better driver if they got to do more of this:

wow - super slack

DANG! I haven't written in like fity - just when there seem to be at least one person in teh world who checks this site every once in a while. I know that is no way to build a readership.

Well - I'm off to the beach for a week, and then to the first of a 5 wedding marathon stretching from Aug 12 to Sept 23. That means I probably won't post for another week. The good news bad news is that I start school on teh 21st, so hopefully there will be more time for me to bitch to you about the things that I bitch about.

On the other hand, maybe we will be knee deep in the rapture by then. If that is the case, at least I'll be at the beach.

on the iPod:
Guns & Roses, Lies
Tom Petty, Last DJ
Stone Roses, ?

where to begin

I honestly don't even know what to do with this:

Bush Sees a Chance for Change to Sweep Mideast
By DAVID STOUT

WASHINGTON, July 28 — President Bush, vowing to turn conflict in the Middle East into a “moment of opportunity” for broader change, said today that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice would be dispatched back to the region on Saturday with a plan for a multinational force that would help Lebanon’s army take over from Hezbollah in the southern part of the country.
. . .
Mr. Bush said that, despite the bloodshed in Lebanon, Iraq and elsewhere in the Middle East, democracy is taking root in the region and will flower “unless we lose our nerve.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/28/world/middleeast/28cnd-mideast.html?hp&ex=1154145600&en=12e22262bf272690&ei=5094&partner=homepage

Do you think the "multinational" force in Lebanon will be as diverse as the ones in Afghanistan & Iraq? Do you think the people will be as welcoming? Do you think change will be as successful? Do you think Bush will pay for it with more tax cuts? Do you think people will wonder why we let Israel flatten cities and blow up power plants, and then pat ourselvs on the back when we build them tin huts and hand out energizers?

on the iPod:
Coldplay, X&Y;
U2, Joshua Tree;
Drive by Truckers, 4/22/06;

It's like an alarm clock

A guy I work with told me "I always set my alarm early enough that I can get to work before it's nine-
-ty degrees outside."

Walking down those last 2 blocks from the metro station with the sun beating down on my back, when the day isn't old enough for the air to have dried out from the morning dew so the humidity is even higher than the 99% I usually deal with, I continually try to find the perfect speed that will allow me to get out of the sun as soon as possible while generating a slight breeze, but not so fast that I actually have to exert myself and start sweating - because god knows the moisture that is condensating on my body right out of the air is enough without me contributing my own juices.

Waking Life

These are today's NYT headlines:

Israel to Occupy Area of Lebanon as Security Zone
As the war between Israel and Hezbollah continued, four unarmed U.N. observers were killed when an Israeli airstrike hit their observation post near the Israeli border.

Battle for Baghdad Boils Down to Grabbing a Slice at a Time
The plan is a version of the “ink blot” strategy of grabbing a piece of terrain, stabilizing it and gradually expanding it.

Senate Removes Abortion Option for Young Girls
The bill would make it a crime to help an under-age girl escape parental notification laws by crossing state lines.

No wonder I woke up in nightmares this morning.

on the iPod:
Soundtrack to the movie, Until the End of the World

Quote of the Day

"Law, as an instrument of justice, has infinite capacity for growth to meet changing needs and mores. . . . The law should be based on current concepts of what is right and just and the judiciary should be alert to the never-ending need for keeping legal principles abreast of the times. Ancient distinctions that make no sense in today's society and that tend to discredit the law should be readily rejected." Kriegler v. Eichler Homes, Inc., 269 Cal. App. 2d 224, 227 (Cal Ct. App. 1969) .

on the iPod:
Paul Weller, Heavy Soul

me not posting is a good indicator that:

1)- I have too much free time
2)- Nothing funny is going on in the world
3)- Nothing screwed up is going on in the world
4)- I'm wasted
5)- I wish I was wasted
6)- O.T.S.S.
7)- I am getting psyched for 5 weddings in 6 weeks between Aug 12 & Sept 23

8 grand

I ran an 8k this weekend - it is probably the farthest & longest I have ever run without stoping. I finished and felt pretty goos about the whole thing - it was a blast and I am deffinitely worried that I may be getting hooked. I don't think I want to be one of those crazy runners, but I am going to do the 2007 marine corps marathon.

This weekend I averaged 9:20 minute miles on what I am told was a fairly hilly race.

I finished 84th out of 105 runners in my age group. Wednesday is my birthday. If the race had been held next weekend, I would have placed 71st out of 120.

The next race on my calendar is the Marine Corps 10k sometime in the fall - October I think. My tentative goal at this point is 9 minute miles. I have no idea how unreasonable or too easy that would be. We shall see.

because the world really doesn't work right

I cherish the days I get to complain about jerks on the metro and people driving SUVs in the left lane going slow while talking on their cell phone.

I try to block out the bad news in the world - like what Israel is doing or the guy who was killed in Georgetown last weekend. For all the wonderful niceness, there is also a lot of terrible stuff in the world.

But you can only block out so much when something terrible happens close to home. I never had a class with Prof. Lash, but some of my best friends did. I often saw him standing outside on the common-area balcony rocking a purple suit and smoking a cigar before class. There really is nothing to say about this. It's just beyond comprehension.

Father Kills Self After Shooting Son
By Tom Jackman, Stephanie McCrummen and Daniela DeaneWashington Post Staff WritersFriday, July 14, 2006; 3:28 PM

A George Mason University law professor shot his 12-year-old son dead and then killed himself at their home in McLean after an apparent domestic dispute with his wife, police said Friday.

Fairfax County police identified the victims as William Lash III, 45, a GMU faculty member and a former Assistant Secretary of Commerce, and his 12-year-old son William Lash IV, known as "Will."

Police found the two before dawn Friday after hearing gunshots from the house hours before. They were called to the residence in west McLean by Lash's wife, they said.

Police said in a statement that a "preliminary investigation indicates this case is a murder/suicide with William Lash III shooting his son, William Lash IV, and then himself."

. . .

Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez issued a statement this afternoon that said: "Bill was a passionate, committed and hard working individual who was much loved and respected by his colleagues at Commerce. He was a vivacious, expansive, and tenacious Assistant Secretary who served this department and his country with dedication and extraordinary effectiveness. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family."

"This just doesn't belong to the normal range of human experience and we're all just heartbroken for his family, his community and for ourselves," said Daniel D. Polsby, dean of the George Mason University Law School.

Full article at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/14/AR2006071400502.html

"we're less screwed than I thought we were"

It's all relative:

Bush heralds improved deficit figures
Annual deficit to come in at $296 billion, below original estimates

Tuesday, July 11, 2006; Posted: 1:36 p.m. EDT (17:36 GMT)

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Bush touted new deficit figures Tuesday showing considerable improvement upon earlier administration predictions, saying it shows the wisdom of his tax cuts.

Bush himself announced the figures -- a task that for the most part has been left to lower-ranking administration officials in the past. The new figures show the deficit for the budget year ending September 30 will be $296 billion -- much better than the $423 billion that Bush predicted in February and a slight improvement over 2005.

...but not as good as the surplus we had when he took office. Oh, and the government is bigger than when he got here too.

On the iPod:
U2; Joshua Tree
Oasis; (What's the Story) Morning Glory

If those walls could talk

I don't know how much you know about what they know about the house that blew up / caved in yesterday. It looks like the owner blew it up (with himself inside) in order to avoid selling it as required by a divorce court. The building was, at one time, a meeting place for CIA spys. I could post links etc, but I don't have time - and I don't have much original material to add - but the NYT has about 4 stories on it today, and I'm sure other papers do too. Check them out.

consolidation match

why does the World Cup have a losers game after the semis? I don't think I could get up for that if I was a player after losing in OT or whatever.

bad start to a good day

There is nothing worse than thinking you have one or two more swallows of coffee and then turning up your cup only to get a mouth full of grounds.

Word of the Day

"Defalcation" - [this one is real] n.

1 : failure to account for or pay over money that has been entrusted to one's care; also : an instance of such failure NOTE: Defalcation does not necessarily involve culpability or misconduct.

2 : a failure to meet a promise or expectation

Source: Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.

thanks to a www.dictionary.com

whew

Moving really is no fun at all. I am mostly "moved," which means I am payimg rent and I have space that I can put my stuff in that is actually mine.

My iPod has yet to turn up, and I have identified various items that I know I left at each of the last 2 places I stayed. I hope to feel normal again by September or October.

little things, part 4

They turned up the water pressure on the water fountains at work. It was never so bad as to make you actually suck metal to get a sip to drink, but it wasn't that good either. Now there is a nice strong stream that delivers enough water so that you don't feel like you're working to quench your thirst. Good water fountains often go unappreciated, but bad water fountains really suck ass.

The Washington D.C. commute

If you want to read a blog about the horrible commutes that we have had here in D.C., just google "some old lame blog written by a hill staff intern who covets reading The Express and wearing his or her i.d. badge in a visible place as long into happy hour as possible before someone makes fun of them." Or you could read this or this [I don't actually know these blogs, they are just what came up in my search].

If you want to read a blog by someone who makes fun of those people behind teir back on his own anonomyous blog, read on reader. . .

In the last two days I saw a man offer his seat to a woman . . . after he had been sitting in it for 45 mins (which ended up being less than half the ride). That's better than nothing I guess.

Taking the advice of the last person to post a comment here, I tapped some guy sitting in one of the reserve seats and pointed out to him that a blind guy was standing there with no where to sit. He got up and the blind guy sat down, fell asleep, and started snoring so that the whole train could hear him. Hey - I don't know why being blind makes it hard for you to stand on the train, but I imagine that if you were blind, you would be tired too.

Hell - when I'm on the home stretch of a train ride to work that is lasting 4 times longer than teh normal 30 mins, and I've been standing for 2 hours and the clock is nearing 10:00 and I haven't had my Starbucks, I'm pretty tired too.

on the iPod:
nothing because I've missplaced it just in time for extra long commutes

EDIT:
Apparently if you link to other news stories, you get more hits on your blog.
read about the Tuesday commute here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/27/AR2006062700287.html

I'll be your boy-toy

Study Casts Doubt On the 'Boy Crisis'Improving Test Scores Cut Into Girls' Lead
By Jay MathewsWashington Post Staff WriterMonday, June 26, 2006; A01

A study to be released today looking at long-term trends in test scores and academic success argues that widespread reports of U.S. boys being in crisis are greatly overstated and that young males in school are in many ways doing better than ever.

Using data compiled from the National Assessment of Educational Progress, a federally funded accounting of student achievement since 1971, the Washington-based think tank Education Sector found that, over the past three decades, boys' test scores are mostly up, more boys are going to college and more are getting bachelor's degrees.

Although low-income boys, like low-income girls, are lagging behind middle-class students, boys are scoring significant gains in elementary and middle school and are much better prepared for college, the report says. It concludes that much of the pessimism about young males seems to derive from inadequate research, sloppy analysis and discomfort with the fact that although the average boy is doing better, the average girl has gotten ahead of him.


. . . Which pretty much just means that a boy must have conducted the study.

Full article at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/25/AR2006062501047.html