It’s late October … do you know where your sprinklers are? Signs of the times, the turning of the seasons. Had the sprinklers blown out. This was an utterly unknown…
It’s late October … do you know where your sprinklers are?
Signs of the times, the turning of the seasons.
Had the sprinklers blown out. This was an utterly unknown concept to me when I was in California. Never thought of it. Never heard of it.
But you gotta do it. If you don’t, it makes for an ugly spring, with much excavation and replacing of PVC pipe.
So we did.
If you haven’t, do you need to?
And then there were four … In the interest of loading this page faster, I’m reducing the number of days shown from 7 to 4. You can look back as…
And then there were four …
In the interest of loading this page faster, I’m reducing the number of days shown from 7 to 4. You can look back as long as you like in the archives, of course (e.g., the October archive has the posts of all the days so far in October), but only four days (figuring a hypothetical person looking here after a three day weekend) will be shown at a time on the main davesblog.php page.
Now excuse me … I have to back up my e-mail before I go home ….
Outlook Express + McAfee AntiVirus = The Solution To Having Too Many E-Mails In Your Folders After kind of scratching my head over what sort of bizarre behavior OE was…
Outlook Express + McAfee AntiVirus = The Solution To Having Too Many E-Mails In Your Folders
After kind of scratching my head over what sort of bizarre behavior OE was having for me over the last month or so (occasionally folders would empty out, new message counts would be off, the “Welcome to Outlook Express!” message would reappear in my otherwise-empty Inbox), I discovered what’s going on.
Rrg. And, also, Arrgh.
And before I discovered it, I lost my Letters folder and one of my PBeM folders last night. Fortunately, I do e-mail backups with Express Assist (Good Dave! Biscuit for you!). Unfortunately, my last backup was 4 October. (Bad Dave! Only a stale biscuit!)
Thanks to the Reg article cited above, I’ve changed the settings (I hope) in McAfee that are causing this Evil. But, boy, am I irked.
Matt Welch on how most of us on the political spectrum have more in common than those trying to drag us apart would have us believe — and how there’s…
Matt Welch on how most of us on the political spectrum have more in common than those trying to drag us apart would have us believe — and how there’s no time like the present to act that way.
We’ve clung to stupid and largely irrelevant political caricatures in this country for way too long. Why not take this opportunity to discard them? Put away your Al Sharpton and Pat Robertson voodoo dolls, brothers and sisters! Let Barbra Streisand and Chuck Heston duke it out unobserved in the Malibu highlands! Let’s argue vehemently, on the merits, about goals, tactics and politics, but leave the broad brushes and 1950s battle scars at home!
Sing it, brother!
What If? A proposal is being floated, quite seriously, to amend the Constitution to allow a rapid replacement of House members in case there was some disaster (such as an…
A proposal is being floated, quite seriously, to amend the Constitution to allow a rapid replacement of House members in case there was some disaster (such as an anthrax attack) which led to over a quarter of the House being killed.
Currently, though Senators can be appointed by Governors, Representatives must be replaced by special election. In case of a mass killing, that might cause chaos in the interim. The proposal allows for Representatives to be similarly appointed, for up to 90 days.
I don’t see anything wrong with that. Do you?
(via InstaPundit)
Taking the moral low ground The Taliban are, according to refugees, hiding military equipment in civilian neighborhoods, around mosques, etc. And these are the folks screaming bloody murder when any…
The Taliban are, according to refugees, hiding military equipment in civilian neighborhoods, around mosques, etc.
And these are the folks screaming bloody murder when any US bomb goes astray?
The Washington Post story goes on to note a Taliban rocket that exploded above the bazaar in Alliance-controlled town of Charikar. Will we hear any regrets or apologies from the Taliban government for the deaths and injuries? Surely it wasn’t intentional!
Following the same line, Ramadan is coming up. This is the Muslim holy month, in which fasting, inner reflection, devotion to God, and self-control are practiced. Ramadan this year (it’s based on the Islamic lunar calendar) is 17 November to 16 December.
There are already calls for the US to stop bombing (or whatever we’re doing by then) during that period. That it will demonstrate how barbaric and evil and anti-Islamic the US is, make for great publicity-fodder for Al Quaeda et al, and generally be a bad idea. This column from the National Review discusses this.
Muslims have been killing each other, and other people, during Ramadan for centuries. Mohammed himself opened a clay urn of whup-ass on tribes outside Mecca during Ramadan, in 624 AD. Iraqis and Iranians killed each other over Ramadan with great aplomb during their war. Anwar Sadat of Egypt launched the Yom Kippur war on Israel during Ramadan, with little respect to his own religion and even less for Israel’s. Besides, as Tod Linberg of Policy Review points out, if we did stop bombing because of Ramadan, that would send the signal that we are waging war against Muslims – instead of against terrorists, as we keep insisting.
[…] Now, I know that bin Laden and al Qaeda aren’t truly representative of the more than 1 billion Muslims in the world. But that’s not really the point. The point is that the people we are at war with – and there may be untold millions of them – couldn’t pass a multicultural sensitivity-training course even if some fatwa said they’d get 72 virgins in this life for doing it. If they believed the West and Islam were in a holy war before September 11; if they thought the Pope was a legitimate military target; if they believed America was a crusader nation – it seems pretty unlikely we can change their minds now, when we’re dropping bombs on Afghanistan.
Harshly phrased, and the author may have some axes to grind, but his key points are sound ones. While we like to think of ourselves as better than the immoral butchers of Al Quaeda, or the intolerant xenophobes of the Taliban, we should also not let ourselves be too bound by ethical restrictions by which they clearly are not. We are not at war with the people of Afghanistan. If that’s not already clear, there’s not much we can do about it — and declaring a month-long cease fire or withdrawal during Ramadan isn’t going to accomplish anything except the agendas of our enemies.
(Via InstaPundit, various places today)
The cottonwoods in the backyard are all bright yellow in their foliage. In the afternoon sun, it illuminates the entire back of the house with a warm, yellow glow. Yellow,…
The cottonwoods in the backyard are all bright yellow in their foliage. In the afternoon sun, it illuminates the entire back of the house with a warm, yellow glow. Yellow, yellow, yellow.
(I can’t find any synonyms for “yellow” in my thesaurus.)
Of course, it also means that I really need to rake leaves again this weekend. But, for the moment, I’ll take it as a Neat Thing In My Life.
Yellow.
Karma Ghosts. I like. And it even downloads and runs reasonably across a dial-up connection. (via Wil)…
Karma Ghosts. I like. And it even downloads and runs reasonably across a dial-up connection.
(via Wil)
So we lost power at our office today. Actually, I suspect a big chunk of Denver West was knocked out — certainly the signals along Colfax Blvd. were down for…
So we lost power at our office today. Actually, I suspect a big chunk of Denver West was knocked out — certainly the signals along Colfax Blvd. were down for quite a ways. I strongly suspect it had to do with the massive retail construction project across the street, unless it was the trenches they’re digging along Indiana …
Anyway, so power was out for about half an hour before I decided to come home and work from here. Lots of work to do, as previously described.
And, of course, my machine didn’t close down well, so the Exchange store on my machine was taking — well, a long time to sync up. So my work ability from home was impaired.
I’m going to have to skip the WinXP roll-out soiree tomorrow. Way too much to do before COB Friday for me to take off for the day — or even for half a day. Rats.
Is it just me, or is there a rather odd eclecticism to having a set of consecutive posts that discuss comic books, torture, and obsolete words, in that order? Ah….
Is it just me, or is there a rather odd eclecticism to having a set of consecutive posts that discuss comic books, torture, and obsolete words, in that order?
Ah. It’s just me, a rather odd eclectic.
Okay, back to your regularly scheduled blog.
21, 20, 19, 18 … Continuing my review of Marvel’s Top 25 comics (as chosen by a fan poll, and as published by Marvel over the next few weeks). 21….
21, 20, 19, 18 …
Continuing my review of Marvel’s Top 25 comics (as chosen by a fan poll, and as published by Marvel over the next few weeks).
The Avengers were to DC’s Justice League was Spider-Man was to Superman — something grittier, more human, less predictable, something that had — well, if not real characters, than certainly soap opera characters to the DC cardboard cut-outs. This issue is filled with silliness — the Hulk hiding out as a clown, Ant-Man’s sexism, Thor and Loki’s goofy rivalry (“Bah! Defeating Don Blake means nothing to me! It would be a hollow victory!”), Iron Man’s pseudo-science (transistors!), and, of course, Rick Jones and the Teen Brigade. But it’s all good fun, enjoyable characters, clean (if occasionally screwball) storytelling, and even if it’s not clear what they are “avenging,” it’s another early masterwork by Lee and Kirby.
If Avengers #1 was clean, heroic fun, Uncanny X-Men #350 was convoluted, miasmic melodrama. Steven Seagle picks up on Claremont’s overcomplexities to finally reveal Gambit’s deep, dark secret — that he worked for Mr. Sinister and helped facilitate the Marvel Mutant Massacre (which most readers had mercifully forgotten by then, and which is even more unspoken of today). Guilty consciences and recriminations ensue, and Gambit and Rogue’s nascent romance bites the dust. The intro by Bob Greenberger hits the nail on the head (if unintentionally) by pointing out that, “compared with many of the other stories that earned their way into the top 25, this story is overly complex, showing how far comic book storytelling had progressed.” How far indeed?
It’s interesting to note that, while all of the characters in the 1963 Avengers are still around today in one form or another, most of the cast in the 1997 Uncanny X-Men are no longer around. Spat and Grovel, the ostensible villains of the piece, might as well never have existed. Trish Tilby, Beast’s beau, is out of the picture. Joseph, the Magneto clone (or whatever his origin was) is long gone. Psylocke is dead (at least for the moment). Maggot is vanished. And while the founding of the Avengers still reverberates nearly forty years later through the Marvel Universe, the events of this whole issue were buried a dozen times over in bigger and ever-more-roccoco “events” and “sagas” in the X-line. Today, nothing that happened or was revealed in this issue matters, really, in the Marvel universe, which is why including it as one of the 25 Greatest is, really, pretty darned goofy.
Of the Top 100, 25 of the 26-100 range are Uncanny X-Men issues, an amazing achievement. I just can’t believe this was ranked higher than all of those were.
The issue after the issue where Gwen Stacy died. This whole saga made a huge impact on comics readership, Spider-man, and Marvel. As noted earlier, I’m not much of a Spider-fan, but Gerry Conway’s story (with classic Gil Kane art) is a moving chapter in Peter Parker’s life, and truly deserving of the ranking.
Though this is one of several dozen (seemingly) “the Origin of Captain America” issues, it’s another fine Lee/Kirby creation (Kirby’s last issue on Cap), and so has a power and glory and even a poignancy all of its own. Good stuff.
So … three out of four. Not bad.
Jordan bomb trial offers US a case study Torture. Truth drugs. Rubber hoses. Electrodes to the groin. Breaking bones. We abhor it. We deplore it. We consider it repugnant. It…
Jordan bomb trial offers US a case study
Torture. Truth drugs. Rubber hoses. Electrodes to the groin. Breaking bones.
We abhor it. We deplore it. We consider it repugnant. It flies in the face of our highly touted ideals of human worth, of the dignity of each man and woman.
We scream bloody murder when our own police use mere intimidation (not even physical duress) to extract confessions or information.
It’s just wrong.
And yet — to get back to that “ends” and “means” discussion before — and yet, can we, in wartime, refuse to use such measures? Or refuse to garner any benefits from those who do? Even if it’s the only way to save lives? The only way to get information to avoid another 9-11?
Are our principles worth anything if we are brutish when it serves our purpose, or when we turn a blind eye to others who are brutish if it is to our own gain?
Are our principles worth anything if we let them stand in the way of our own survival, of learning things that will help prevent future terror attacks?
Information from torture is tainted, both morally and, sometimes, factually. After all, under torture, folks will confess to nearly anything. But sometimes it’s the only way to get the information you need. So then, you have to ask, what are the costs of getting that information? What are the costs of not getting it?
Wish I had answers to all these questions, folks. All I have is a vague relief that I’m not the one, on the ground, having to make such decisions. And a more-than-vague fear that it doesn’t let me off the hook.
From my page-a-day “Forgotten English” calendar. mawmsey: Sleepy; stupid, as from want of rest or overdrinking. (As cited in Georgina Jackson’s 1879 Shropshire Word-Book.) A fun word. The page (from…
From my page-a-day “Forgotten English” calendar.
mawmsey: Sleepy; stupid, as from want of rest or overdrinking. (As cited in Georgina Jackson’s 1879 Shropshire Word-Book.)
A fun word.
The page (from 9/29-30) also notes that it’s the old calendar date for Michaelmas. St. Michael was a patron of (among others) “hangover-prone sailors,” and on the morning of the 29th (?) sleeping late was condoned, as in this rhyme about hours of sleep.
Nature requires five,
Custom gives seven;
Laziness takes nine,
And Michaelmas eleven.
Airport Security Interesting editorial in the Rocky Mountain News this a.m. on airport security. Looking at Europe, most of those countries (after having nationalized airports) now have airport corporations in…
Interesting editorial in the Rocky Mountain News this a.m. on airport security. Looking at Europe, most of those countries (after having nationalized airports) now have airport corporations in charge of the whole shebang — but with strict governmental standards. This, according to the author of the opinion piece, provides the flexibility to handle changing situations and to fire people who don’t perform better than a civil service arrangement would.
I don’t know. On paper, it seems reasonable, and certainly the Europeans have more experience at this sort of situation than we do. Still, when it gets down the the profit motive, it’s not clear to me that a money-making enterprise is the best to trust our security to. Nevertheless, it’s worth reading and considering.
Lessons Learned? A US Army Foreign Military Studies Office report on the Soviet war in Afghanistan. One of the more level-headed sound-biteless bits on this decade-long bloodbath I’ve seen. Whatever…
A US Army Foreign Military Studies Office report on the Soviet war in Afghanistan. One of the more level-headed sound-biteless bits on this decade-long bloodbath I’ve seen.
Whatever else these lessons may show, the most fundamental of them is that no army, however sophisticated, well trained, materially rich, numerically overwhelming and ruthless, can succeed on the battlefield if it is not psychologically fit and motivated for the fight. The force, however destitute in material advantages and numbers, which can rely on the moral qualities of a strong faith, stubborn determination, individualism and unending patience will always be the winner. These may not be the optimum qualities always found in the armies of western democracies.
Something for the US to bear in mind, regardless of how we go about conducting our own war.
(Via Lake Effect)
Divide Afghanistan Along Ethnic Lines An interesting (Letter to the Editor) concept. Rather than try to come up with a coalition government in such a strongly divided nation, instead follow…
Divide Afghanistan Along Ethnic Lines
An interesting (Letter to the Editor) concept. Rather than try to come up with a coalition government in such a strongly divided nation, instead follow the recent European model and let the ethnic groups have their own “homelands.”
Of course, one can argue whether such splitting is responsible for further problems in Yugoslavia, or whether it was a mistake to try to create such a country to begin with.
(Via Lake Effect)
CDs sitting on my desk. Pet Shop Boys: Very; Alternative; Actually Shania Twain: Come On Over Joan Baez: Very Early Joan Heart: Brigade Cirque de Soleil: Cirque de Soleil Mark…
CDs sitting on my desk.
I’m sure this all means something. Interpretations are welcome.
Blabbermouths The Concourse A bridge route still looks to be the best way through security at DIA. Meanwhile, if you want to feel confident and comfortable about the security screeners…
The Concourse A bridge route still looks to be the best way through security at DIA.
Meanwhile, if you want to feel confident and comfortable about the security screeners at the airport, don’t read this.
Well, the baby gate night before last didn’t do anything execpt make her keenly aware of any noise we were making. Margie spent a couple of hours trying to get…
Well, the baby gate night before last didn’t do anything execpt make her keenly aware of any noise we were making. Margie spent a couple of hours trying to get her to go down — and then was back up with her at 2 a.m., sitting in the chair in her room, trying to settle her down — or, once settled, to get her back into her crib.
When I came downstairs yesterday morning at 5:15 a.m., they were both fitfully sacked out on the couch in the family room.
So last night we put her down with the door closed. She screamed bloody murder for about 25 minutes, then crashed. Margie went to bed around 8. I followed at about 10. Katherine woke up around 4 a.m. — I went in, sat with her for about 15 minutes, then put her back down. She strongly dissented from that course of action, but was sound asleep by the time I got up at 5.
Thus … some improvement. Margie’s taking her in to the clinic this a.m. to see if they can find any sort of problem, or if it’s all just a phase.
Obviously my level of concern over National ID is way too low. Al Martin sets me right. This uniform looked exactly like the Imperial Storm Troopers from “Star Wars” except…
Obviously my level of concern over National ID is way too low. Al Martin sets me right.
This uniform looked exactly like the Imperial Storm Troopers from “Star Wars” except instead of white, it was gray. All the helmets have little transceivers so they can communicate with each other. There will be six guards at each internal security checkpoint. And there’s another warning on the inside of the barbed wire enclosure, “Any detainees attempting to escape will be shot.” It was a yellow and red sign inside the detainment area.
I think I’ll hide my copy of 1984, just in case.
(Via bornfamous)