Lame Duck Shenanigans...

This reminds me of the stories about the Clinton team trashing the White House as they left office.  The lead from this story in today's WSJ:

The 111th Congress began with an $814 billion stimulus that blew out the federal balance sheet, so we suppose it's only fitting that the Members want to exit by passing a 1,924-page, $1.2 trillion omnibus spending bill. The worst Congress in modern history is true to its essence to the bitter end.

Think of this as a political version of the final scene in "Animal House," when the boys from the Delta frat react to their expulsion by busting up the local town parade for the sheer mayhem of it. Bluto Blutarsky (John Belushi) did go on to be a U.S. Senator in the film, and a man of his vision must have earned a seat on Appropriations.

Democrats have had 11 months to write a budget for fiscal 2011, which began on October 1. But Majority Leader Harry Reid and Appropriations Chairman Daniel Inouye have dumped this trillion-dollar baby on Senators at the very last minute, when everyone is busy and wants to go home for the holidays. No doubt that was the plan. The continuing resolution to fund the government expires on Saturday, so Mr. Reid wants to squeeze Senators against the deadline. And with the press corps preoccupied by the tax debate, the spending bill is greased to slide through with little or no public scrutiny.

Disgusting, ain't it? Read the whole thing; I promise, you'll be even more disgusted...

Facebook Connections Map...

Fascinating graphic representation of “friends” connections on Facebook.  Click to enlarge, as usual.

A Drop of Water...

At 10,000 frames per second:

Francohumor...

Via reader Jim M.:

France has neither winter nor summer nor morals. Apart from these drawbacks it is a fine country. France has usually been governed by prostitutes.'
– Mark Twain

I would rather have a German division in front of me than a French one behind me.
– General George S. Patton

Going to war without France is like going deer hunting without your accordion.
– Norman Schwartzkopf

We can stand here like the French, or we can do something about it.
– Marge Simpson

The only time France wants us to go to war is when the German Army is sitting in Paris sipping coffee.
– Regis Philbin

The last time the French asked for 'more proof' it came marching into Paris under a German flag.
– David Letterman

War without France would be like ... World War II.
– unknown

The favorite bumper sticker in Washington D.C.right now is one that says 'First Iraq , then France .'
– Tom Brokaw

What do you expect from a culture and a nation that exerted more of its national will fighting against Disney World and Big Macs than the Nazis?
– Dennis Miller

It is important to remember that the French have always been there when they needed us.
– Alan Kent

Somebody was telling me about the French Army rifle that was being advertised on eBay the other day – the description was, 'Never fired. Dropped once.'
– Rep. Roy Blunt, MO

The French will only agree to go to war when we've proven we've found truffles in Iraq.
– Dennis Miller

Q. What did the mayor of Paris say to the German Army as they entered the city in WWII?
A. Table for 100,000 m'sieur?

Do you know how many Frenchmen it takes to defend Paris ? It's not known, it's never been tried.
– Rep. R. Blount, MO

Do you know it only took Germany three days to conquer France in WWII? And that's because it was raining.
– John Xereas, Manager, DC Improv

French Ban Fireworks at Euro Disney
(AP), Paris , March 5, 2003  The French Government announced today that it is imposing a ban on the use of fireworks at Euro Disney. The decision comes the day after a nightly fireworks display at the park, located just 30 miles outside of Paris, caused the soldiers at a nearby French Army garrison to surrender to a group of Czech tourists.

The French Army's brand new tank has 15 gears in reverse (including overdrive) - and one forward gear (just in case they're attacked from the rear).

A Kitty Sort of Christmas...

My cousin Mike D. sent around an email with Christmas-themed cartoons.  This one caught my eye, as several of our feline beasties could easily be the main character in it.  As usual, click to enlarge...

Hooters Calendar...

This came in via email from my mom, so I didn't know what to expect when I opened the attachment – it could have been anything at all, including what you expected when you saw the title.  But this turned out to be a series of calendar photos featuring owls, and the photography is very nice indeed.  The shot at right is an example.

If you're interested, the real deal is on sale here, in both paper and electronic form...

Solar Eruption...

Via APOD, this video of a solar filament erupting.  The last few years have brought astounding advances in our ability to image the sun's surface...

Geminids...

I posted in some detail about the Geminids yesterday.  This morning the dogs and I watched them for about 10 minutes, and saw about 40 meteors.  That works out to a rate of about 240/hour, nowhere near some of the predictions – but it was still a great display.  Because Gemini is so high in the sky right now, the meteors were visible at all points of the compass, and looked like they were headed straight down.  Of the meteors I saw, two were fairly large and long-lived, one in particular to the southwest of me that disappeared below the horizon still glowing brightly...

Your Morning Puns...

Via reader James M.:

The fattest knight at King Arthur's round table was Sir Cumference. He acquired his size from too much pi.

I thought I saw an eye doctor on an Alaskan island, but it turned out to be an optical Aleutian.

She was only a whiskey maker, but he loved her still.

A rubber band pistol was confiscated from algebra class, because it was a weapon of math disruption.

No matter how much you push the envelope, it'll still be stationery.

A dog gave birth to puppies near the road and was cited for littering.

A grenade thrown into a kitchen in France would result in Linoleum Blownapart.

Two silk worms had a race. They ended up in a tie.

A hole has been found in the nudist camp wall. The police are looking into it.

Atheism is a non-prophet organization.

Two hats were hanging on a hat rack in the hallway. One hat said to the other: 'You stay here; I'll go on a head.'

I wondered why the baseball kept getting bigger. Then it hit me.

A sign on the lawn at a drug rehab center said: 'Keep off the Grass.'

The midget fortune-teller who escaped from prison was a small medium at large.

The soldier who survived mustard gas and pepper spray is now a seasoned veteran.

A backward poet writes inverse.

In a democracy it's your vote that counts. In feudalism it's your count that votes.

When cannibals ate a missionary, they got a taste of religion.

If you jumped off the bridge in Paris , you'd be in Seine .

Two fish swim into a concrete wall. One turns to the other and says 'Dam!'

Two hydrogen atoms meet. One says, 'I've lost my electron.' The other says 'Are you sure?' The first replies,'Yes, I'm positive.'

Aging Rock Stars...

If you're of a certain age, you'll enjoy this:

Mandate Take-Down...

This WSJ piece is a good summary of the ruling yesterday that the Obamacare individual mandate is unconstitutional.  A taste:

Judge Hudson's opinion is particularly valuable because it dispatches the White House's carousel of rationalizations for its unprecedented intrusions. The Justice Department argued that the mandate is justified by the Commerce Clause because the decision not to purchase insurance has a substantial effect on interstate commerce because everybody needs medical care eventually. And if not that, then it's permissible under the broader taxing power for the general welfare; and if not that, then it's viable under the Necessary and Proper clause; and if not that, well, it's needed to make the overall regulatory scheme function.

But as Judge Hudson argues, the nut of the case is the Commerce Clause. Justice can't now claim that the mandate is "really" a tax when the bill itself imposes what it calls a "penalty" for failing to buy insurance and says the power to impose the mandate is vested in interstate commerce. Recall that President Obama went on national television during the ObamaCare debate to angrily assert that the mandate "is absolutely not a tax increase."

Moreover, Judge Hudson says that no court has ever "extended Commerce Clause powers to compel an individual to involuntarily enter the stream of commerce by purchasing a commodity in the private market."

The best part so far as I can see is that this ruling is a necessary first step in the inevitable appeals process, so the (first) journey of this legislation to the Supreme Court has begun...

Morning Walk...

We got up a little early this morning, and I had the dogs outside by 2:30 am.  Down by our gate they (all four of them!) got all excited about something slightly off to one side of our driveway.  Some smell there was driving them slightly crazy; all four of them trying to shoulder the others aside so they could catch the best olfactory experience.  It's times like this when I fervently wish I could somehow communicate with the dogs.  What on earth has you so excited, guys? 

Tomorrow morning we should see the peak of this year's Geminid meteor shower.  The viewing around here should be close to ideal at my normal morning walk time.  The Geminid shower gets its name from the fact that it appears to emerge from the constellation Gemini, above and to the left of Orion as you view the night sky.  This morning, Castor and Pollux (the two brightest stars in Gemini) were almost straight overhead at 2:30 am – it doesn't get any better than that for viewing a meteor shower!  For any astronomy buffs out there, Castor is a very interesting star system: an optical binary system (easily seen even in binoculars), each member of which is itself spectroscopic binary – and this quadruple star system has a orbiting companion binary system!

This morning, staring at Gemini for a couple of minutes (I didn't time it, so that's approximate), I saw 12 meteors.  That works out to a rate of about 360/hour.  Some sources are predicting rates tomorrow morning of around 1,000/hour.  I hope you have a chance to see this...

No Nativity Scene in Washington D.C. This Year...

Via my mom:

There will be no Nativity Scene in Washington this year!

The Supreme Court has ruled that there cannot be a Nativity Scene in the United States' Capital this Christmas season.

This isn't for any religious reason. They simply have not been able to find Three Wise Men in the Nation's Capitol.

The search for a Virgin continues.

There was no problem, however, finding enough asses to fill the stable.

Branden Dallo Killed...

In an accident that may have been alcohol-related, 21 year old Branden Dallo was killed yesterday in a single car accident off Jamul Drive:

A 21-year-old man was killed and his passenger was injured early Friday when their car went off a winding, rural road in Jamul, authorities said.

Branden Dallo was driving a Porsche south on Jamul Drive when he lost control of the car and veered off the shoulder east of Tuk-A-Wile Drive about 2:15 a.m., California Highway Patrol Officer Brian Pennings said.

The Porsche went down a grassy slope and hit several trees and a boulder, Pennings said.

Dallo died in the wreck. His passenger, McKenzie Hillman, 18, was taken to a hospital with minor injuries, Pennings said.

Pennings said there was evidence that Dallo may have been under the influence of alcohol.

One small consolation: Ms. Hillman is ok.

Many readers have written to let me know that Branden was the younger brother of Johnny Dallo.

Our sympathy to the family and friends of Branden.

Endorsement...

Paul Ryan's Roadmap for America's Future just got a celebrity endorsement: from Sarah Palin.

Geek Rant...

Here's an interesting rant about Object Oriented Programming (OOP).  I'm certainly not ready to abandon OOP, but nonetheless the man makes some points that resonate.  Like this one:

Finally, I hate the catchphrase: “Objects are not enough. We need …” Over the years we have needed frameworks, components, aspects, services (which, curiously, seems to bring us back to procedural programming!).

Given the fact that objects clearly never were enough, isn’t it odd that they have served us so well over all these years?

Read the whole thing (and don't miss the comments!)...

Politics and Eye Movements...

Lead from a Science Daily article today:

It goes without saying that conservatives and liberals don't see the world in the same way. Now, research from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln suggests that is exactly, and quite literally, the case.

In a new study, UNL researchers measured both liberals' and conservatives' reaction to "gaze cues" -- a person's tendency to shift attention in a direction consistent with another person's eye movements, even if it's irrelevant to their current task -- and found big differences between the two groups.

Liberals responded strongly to the prompts, consistently moving their attention in the direction suggested to them by a face on a computer screen. Conservatives, on the other hand, did not.

The reason for this hypothesized by the researchers is that conservatives are less likely to be influenced by what other people say or do.

Fascinating.

Read the whole thing...

M81 in All Its Glory...

Via APOD, of course.

When I was a kid, the best image you could hope for of M81 was a black-and-white smear about the size of a penny.  Click to enlarge this beauty, and marvel at what modern technology allows us to see...

Quote of the Day...

From J.R. Dunn, at American Thinker:

Serves 'em right for using Windows.

I had no idea that Dunn is a geek.

This is right in the middle of an excellent article about the Stuxnet worm and the WikiLeaks cable dumps as examples of modern warfare.  Well worth reading the whole thing...

Scary Chart...

I've published this chart before; but it was time for an update.  The basic message here is that we're in the mother of all recessions, no matter what kind of blather you're hearing from politicians, economists, or “settled science”.  Read it and be afraid, especially of that almost-flat bottom.  Where's the steep upturn that we see in nearly all the other recessions?  It ain't here yet, that's for sure...

Cell Phone Karma...

Very funny ad:

Torn...

So the Democrats are split – some are ok with Obama's tax cut compromise; others are angry that he compromised at all, and are threatening to scuttle the compromise.  And I'm not sure which side to root for...

On the one hand the compromise is very good for me personally; my taxes would be thousands of dollars lower next year if it passes.  On the other hand, continuing the deficit spending is clearly a bad thing for the country, and will come back to bite us one of these days – in ways that will probably be bad for me personally.

This tax compromise is really just more politics-as-usual.  While it solves a problem about to smack us all upside the head in a few weeks, it does absolutely nothing to address the fundamental problem (federal spending exceeding federal taxes), and in fact makes it worse (reducing taxes while not changing spending).  So I'm having a hard time getting excited by this.

It sure would be nice to have a problem-solver go to work over there in D.C...

Who Knew?

The easy way to peel a banana:




Yes, I tried it.  Yes, it works.

Reading...

Several months ago I purchased a Kindle, and I've been using it ever since – I haven't read a single paper book since first picking up the device (though I do still read paper magazines and the occasional newspaper).  At this point I have read almost 40 books on my Kindle, and my style of using it has settled down.  I can make some observations based on experience:

I don't miss the paper format at all.  The convenience and portability of the Kindle far outweigh any aesthetic loss.

Having an entire library (over 300 books now) that I can carry around means that I now find myself much more easily jumping around from book-to-book, reading what suits my mood and mental state.

The dictionary and word look-up facility built into the Kindle has me now doing something I did decades ago, but stopped: looking up every word I don't know.  The only ways Amazon could make this feature any better would be to (a) speed it up (it now takes 10 seconds or so to look up a word) and to (b) switch to the O.E.D. as the dictionary (“antique” words are often not in the Merriam dictionary included, and I read enough older literature for this to be annoying).

The fact that I can download and read copyright-free books at no cost has me exploring all sorts of books that I'd probably never buy.  For example, I've just finished rereading Gulliver's Travels (Jonathan Swift), which I last read in my twenties.  I've also reread all of Jules Vernes' works that were translated to English, and I'm starting on Charles Dickens (many of which I've never read). 

I'm also buying books that I might not have purchased on paper, because of the cost differential.  For example, I recently purchased Decision Points (George W. Bush), and read it.  I'm glad I did – I rather liked the book (something I didn't expect), and it clarified something for me: that the essential thing I liked about Bush as President had nothing to do with his competence, but rather his decency and humility.  In this respect, the contrast with the current President couldn't be more stark...

Another Takedown of the TSA Approach...

From Evan DeFillipis:

There is little evidence to suggest that the newest TSA procedures will be effective at reducing terrorism. Indeed, security expert Bruce Schneier stated unequivocally that nothing that can conceivably be done to stop a well-financed al-Qaeda-like plot from materializing — once terrorist plotters have made it to the airport, it’s already too late to stop them. Against “lone-wolf” amateur forms of terrorism, upper-level intelligence agencies and pre-Sept. 11 technologies has consistently proven effective at neutralizing the threat.

Nevertheless, the TSA continues to advocate a model of security based upon overreaction. Ineffectual peripheral threats relating to liquid explosives, shoe bombs or printer cartridges coincide with rapid changes to the terrorist alert level (as if the risk of terrorism increases after a failed plot!) and reactionary modifications to security protocol, resulting in the loss of millions in governmental revenue, inconvenience for passengers and the abatement of fundamental liberty.

The fundamental problem is that terrorism is innovative while TSA policy is reactive. The TSA modifies its protocol on the basis of terrorist plots that have already happened, while an intelligent terrorist knows not to duplicate the failed efforts of past terrorists.

Security expert, Bruce Schneier, noted that international terrorists have already started smuggling weapons through body cavities, which can’t be detected through either x-rays or pat-downs, instantly rendering both our new procedures useless.

Read the whole thing...

Now This is a Cold Winter!

In Russia, of course.  Brrrrr!

Click to enlarge (and make your room feel colder).

San Diego looks very warm by comparison, even when we have a frost...

A Christmas Carol...

The kind you might hear around our house:

Freaky-Deaky Wireless Technology...

Via my mom:

Excellent Article on the TSA's Security Theatre...

From John Wohlstetter at NRO.  His conclusion:

Does anyone really believe that Americans, if given a choice between intimate patdowns and Israel-style interviews, would choose being groped?

The bottom line is that Israel’s methods work. Instead of having ill-trained TSA agents search for bad things, have well-trained agents search for bad people. Profile by behavior and circumstance (cash ticket, one-way trip, etc.), and leave most of us alone. Compile accurate no-fly lists. Heed credible warnings. Ignore political correctness.

Instead, Homeland Security secretary Janet Napolitano reportedly has two more Bright Ideas: unionizing TSA employees and special reduced screening for Muslims in traditional garb. The former, rejected when the Department of Homeland Security was established, would make it harder to fire incompetent employees. The latter would have the unintended impact of so enraging most Americans that they will insist lawmakers make TSA apply uniform rules.

Israel’s skies have been friendly for 42 years. Not a bad record. We should learn from it.

Go read the whole thing.

More Handy-Dandy Linux Commands...

Some of these were completely new to me, and useful to know.  Example:

man ascii

Can you guess what that does?

MathJax...

Interesting new JavaScript library.  Interesting, that is, if you want to display equations and formulae on your web site...

Peer Review...

The study reproduced at right (in its entirety; click to enlarge) was published in a peer-reviewed science journal.

Really.

Enceladus, Even Closer...

The image at right (click to enlarge), of Saturn's moon Enceladus, was taken a few days ago by Cassini on its closest approach yet (to within just 48 km).

If you've been following the fascinating discoveries Cassini has been making about Enceladus, then you know that this moon is one of the most fascinating and surprising objects in our solar system.  The jets visible so clearly in this photo are primarily composed of water – and the simple existence of that water is perhaps the most surprising finding of all the many surprises from Enceladus.

Cassini has now been making steady, amazing contributions to science for over five years.  It's still going strong, though getting closer and closer to its end of life.  The scientists are directing it now to missions that would have been deemed too risky earlier in its mission, such as this very close pass to Enceladus.

More Cassinis, please, NASA.

Marine Corps Bumper Stickers...

These gems nicely sum up the reasons why the U.S. Marine Corps is feared by all the bad guys in the world:

U.S. Marines – Travel Agents To Allah

When In Doubt, Empty The Magazine

The Marine Corps – When It Absolutely, Positively Has To Be Destroyed Overnight

Death Smiles At Everyone – Marines Smile Back

Marine Sniper – You can run, but you'll just die tired!

What Do I Feel When I Kill A Terrorist? Just a little recoil..."

Marines – Providing Enemies of America an Opportunity To Die For their Country Since 1775

Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Anyone Who Threatens It

Happiness Is A Belt-Fed Weapon

It's God's Job to Forgive Bin Laden – It's Our Job To Arrange The Meeting

Artillery Brings Dignity to What Would Otherwise Be Just A Brawl

Machine Gunners – Accuracy by Volume

A Dead Enemy Is A Peaceful Enemy – Blessed Be The Peacemakers

Except For Ending Slavery, Fascism, Nazism, and Communism, WAR has Never Solved Anything.

Terrorists and the Washington Monument...

Bruce Schneier weighs in.

Listen to the man, folks.

The Four Cats...

For some reason, my mom thought of us when she read this:

The Four Cats

Four men were bragging about how smart their cats were. The first man was an engineer, the second man was an accountant, the third man was a chemist, and the fourth man was a government employee.

To show off, the engineer called to his cat, "T-square, do your stuff."

T-square pranced over to the desk, took out some paper and pen and promptly drew a circle, a square, and a triangle.

Everyone agreed that was pretty smart.

But the accountant said his cat could do better. He called his cat and said, "Spreadsheet, do your stuff."

Spreadsheet went out to the kitchen and returned with a dozen cookies. He divided them into 4 equal piles of 3 cookies.

Everyone agreed that was good.

But the chemist said his cat could do better. He called his cat and said, "Measure, do your stuff."

Measure got up, walked to the fridge, took out a quart of milk, got a 10 ounce glass from the cupboard and poured exactly 8 ounces, without spilling a drop, into the glass.

Everyone agreed that was pretty good.

Then the three men turned to the government employee and said, "What can your cat do?" The government employee called his cat and said, "Coffee Break, do your stuff."

Coffee Break jumped to his feet...

Ate the cookies...

Drank the milk...

Crapped on the paper...

Screwed the other three cats...

Claimed he injured his back while doing so.

Filed a grievance report for unsafe working conditions...

Put in for Worker's Compensation...and went home for the rest of the day on sick leave.

AND THAT, MY FRIEND, IS WHY EVERYONE WANTS TO WORK FOR THE GOVERNMENT!

I hope my mom thought of us because of the cat theme, and not because she thinks we want to be government employees!

Don't Mess with the Old Guys!

My (much younger) colleagues at work had a good laugh over this:

Truth and Peer-Reviewed Science...

Reader Doug W. forwarded this fascinating Atlantic article (by David Freedman), about a scientist who is systematically studying the errors in science as it is practiced today.  It's longer than most of what I link to, but if you're at all interested in understanding the process of science, it's well worth your time.

Though the article focuses on medical science, Doug points out that what it says is obviously applicable far more broadly – such as to climate research.  I read the article with that thought in mind, and this passage jumped out at me:

Though scientists and science journalists are constantly talking up the value of the peer-review process, researchers admit among themselves that biased, erroneous, and even blatantly fraudulent studies easily slip through it. Nature, the grande dame of science journals, stated in a 2006 editorial, “Scientists understand that peer review per se provides only a minimal assurance of quality, and that the public conception of peer review as a stamp of authentication is far from the truth.” What’s more, the peer-review process often pressures researchers to shy away from striking out in genuinely new directions, and instead to build on the findings of their colleagues (that is, their potential reviewers) in ways that only seem like breakthroughs—as with the exciting-sounding gene linkages (autism genes identified!) and nutritional findings (olive oil lowers blood pressure!) that are really just dubious and conflicting variations on a theme.

Most journal editors don’t even claim to protect against the problems that plague these studies. University and government research overseers rarely step in to directly enforce research quality, and when they do, the science community goes ballistic over the outside interference. The ultimate protection against research error and bias is supposed to come from the way scientists constantly retest each other’s results—except they don’t. Only the most prominent findings are likely to be put to the test, because there’s likely to be publication payoff in firming up the proof, or contradicting it.

These are exactly the points that many AGW skeptics make about the IPCC reports and much of the “settled science” of climatology, and the reaction (both by the scientists and the press) is exactly as described.

The overall conclusion is that science is a messy, error-filled process that nonetheless drifts in the general direction of increasing truth and knowledge.  I'd argue that skepticism is an essential part of the scientific process, in particular helping with the direction of the drift...

Smackdown...

If you're unfortunate enough to know who Keith Olbermann is, then you know that what he needs more than anything is a good smackdown.  That's exactly what has happened here, delivered by none other than Bristol Palin, of all people.  Money quote:

I have never claimed to be perfect. If that makes me the "worst person in the world" to Mr. Olbermann, then I must apologize for not being absolutely faultless like he undoubtedly must be.

Definitely read the whole (short) thing.

Wealth vs. Health, Over Time...

Not only is the information presented here interesting in and of itself, but the video is a terrific example of the power of well-done visualizations.  You won't regret spending a few minutes with this video:

Lileks...

Mostly I get to read Lileks, or listen to him on the Ricochet podcast.  Here's a video interview.  Oh, would that our newpapers and online media were full of wit like his!

Where the TSA is Headed?

Via reader Kyla M:

A Great Dental Plan!

Via my mom:

Gray Lady Hypocrisy...

Via reader Cliff F.:

New York Times editors, as cited in James Taranto's Best of the Web Today column at WSJ.com, Nov. 29:

"The documents appear to have been acquired illegally and contain all manner of private information and statements that were never intended for the public eye, so they won't be posted here."—New York Times, on the Climategate emails, Nov. 20, 2009.

"The articles published today and in coming days are based on thousands of United States embassy cables, the daily reports from the field intended for the eyes of senior policy makers in Washington. . . . The Times believes that the documents serve an important public interest, illuminating the goals, successes, compromises and frustrations of American diplomacy in a way that other accounts cannot match."—New York Times, on the WikiLeaks documents, Nov. 29, 2010.

The original Best of the Web Today article.

It's been over 20 years since I last read the New York Times regularly.  This is a good example of why.

TSA Pinup of the Year...

If You're Wondering About Your Fellow Humans...

...here's a story that will cheer you up.  Grab some Kleenex, and read:

In the grand scheme of prayer requests, theirs seemed fairly simple.

Dave and Melanie Stieglitz were asking for friends at their church to pray for the youngest of their three daughters, the one who was born with Down syndrome. Not that they wanted God to change anything about her. To the contrary, they were hoping, praying, to change those around her. Specifically to change her classmates at Fletcher High School. Not all 2,000 of them. Just one.

God, they asked, send a friend to Cara.

One friend.

Someone to sit with her at lunch.

At the time, Cara Stieglitz was 14 years old, a Fletcher freshman. And if you had wandered into the school and, just at a glance, tried to pick who was least likely to be named homecoming queen, you might have pointed at the girl who was eating by herself.

"As a parent, that pulls at your heart," Melanie Stieglitz said of picturing her daughter sitting alone.

So every Tuesday, she went to school and ate lunch with Cara. And on Sundays, they prayed that someone else would join her.

They never imagined that four years later Cara would be standing on a football field, wearing a purple dress that she and her mother picked out for homecoming. The court already had been narrowed from more than 80 nominees to 10 boys and 10 girls. One by one, the runners-up were announced. Then the king.

Jesse Hughes fits the traditional mold of a homecoming king. Star basketball player, 4.2 grade point average, good-looking, popular. He was the nominee of the senior class.

But the queen ...

Several television stations were there that night, so you may have seen video of the moment. The queen leaping up and down, her grin making the king's grin grow even bigger. Everyone in the stands on their feet. Parents dabbing their eyes. And not just Cara's parents.

The king said his mom was crying.

"And not for me," he said with a laugh.

So beyond prayer, how did this happen? How did Fletcher High become the scene of a story that feels almost too good to be true, like something straight out of a movie script? How did Cara go from sitting by herself in the lunchroom to standing by herself on the football field, the crowd cheering as the time-honored symbol of high school popularity was placed onto her head?

This is Cara's story. But it is also her classmates' story.

The rest of the story...

Dog Found!

Update and bump: Added photo from Kathy.  This little guy just wants to go home!

Original post: Reader Kathy reports that they have found a dog wandering about. From her email to me:

We found a dog tonight about 4 PM wandering on Lyons Valley Rd near Jamul Intermediate. He was scared and was almost hit several times. He looks like a young Rotweiler. He has a collar, but no tags. He is a sweet dog, but really wants to go home. Our phone number is 669-2923.

Does this sound like any dog you know? If so, please give Kathy a call. Meanwhile, I'll see if she can supply a photo...

<head> Script...

This looks interesting, though I haven't yet tried it...

Optimizing Sleep...

This I gotta read...

Phobos...

The Mars Express orbiter recently took this photo of Mars' mysterious dark moon Phobos. 

I remember vividly the science fiction stories of my youth, wherein the authors could plausibly posit that the two satellites of Mars were not of natural origin, but were (depending on the story) either remnants of Martian civilizations, remnants of prior Earth civilizations, or artifacts of alien civilizations.  They could do this because we knew so little about these tiny little moons.  Now all those lovely story lines are destroyed because of sharp photos like this – but now we've got an even more intriguing series of questions and mysteries!

Via APOD.

Morning Walk...

Got up just a bit early this morning; just woke up and couldn't get back to sleep.  The dogs were just as eager for their morning walk; they don't seem to care what time it happens.

We walked out into a clear, cold night.  The stars were bright overhead, with Orion high in the southern sky and the waning moon hanging low in the east.  Despite the moonshine (bright enough to walk in, and to leave shadows), the Milky Way was clearly visible. 

Also visible were some meteors, “shooting stars”.  There's no predicted meteor shower on this date, so these were just randomly occurring – probably the remnants of a small comet or asteriod collision debris.  Over the course of around five minutes I counted 14 meteors; one of them a very bright one with a visible smoky trail in the moonlight.

Just as we turned around to head back into the house, a pack of coyotes starting their eerie howling on the hill opposite us, roughly 400 yards (meters) from where we stood.  The three field spaniels took little notice – just a couple glances toward the hill, and then they went back to their important work of snuffling up every wisp of odor along our track.  Race, the border collie, went on full alert.  He stood up straight and tall, hackles up, directly facing that distant hill and his distant relatives making such a racket.  For 30 seconds or so I couldn't budge him – it was as if he had turned to stone and I was trying to move a ten ton sculpture.  But then with no warning he decided that there was no immediate danger, and went back to playing with a pine cone – dropping it on the ground in front of me so I would kick it for him to chase.

When I'm playing with the dogs like this, I often wish it was as easy to motivate and lead people as it is to lead my dogs.  I can easily get Race to go anywhere I want him to go – I just have to throw a pine cone in that general direction.  The field spaniels would follow me into the fires of hell if I promised them a dog biscuit.  Employees are ever so much more difficult...

Programmer Competency Matrix...

A useful compilation...

Montana Thunderstorm...

Awesome photo, via APOD.

Reflections on Aging...

From Walter Mosley.  Some of this resonates with me...

Awesome Robot!

Mechanically, this is a very simple robot: just a “wagon” that can traverse back and forth. I was impressed when I saw it balance the inverted pendulum, though I can easily imagine how it could do so.  But then I saw it balance the double inverted pendulum – and that just looks like magic.  I wouldn't have guessed it was even possible (for human or robot)!

Our Morning...

Our morning began a tad earlier than usual today, thanks to our menagerie.  Race (our border collie) was curled up tightly on our bed, between Debbie and I.  His nose was resting on my arm.  Maka Lea (our cutest little cat) was tucked up in a fold of the blanket behind the crook of Debbie's knee.  Mo'i (one of our field spaniels) was in his usual place, under the blankets down by Debbie's feet.  Miki (our youngest field spaniel) was lying on my feet.

This was the setup when the fun began.

It started with Miki at about 1 am, who decided to crawl up the length of my body, snuffling right into my face, his tail wagging like mad.  You could almost hear him saying “Get up! Get up! It's time to play!”  Then Race decided he was jealous of the attention Miki was getting, and he started nipping playfully at Miki, and generally getting rowdy.  This was more than Maka Lea could take, so he started acting all grumpy – whacking away at any passing limb.

Debbie and I gave up any hope of sleeping until some reasonable hour (like 3 am).  We turned on the light and saw Maka Lea blinking furiously, and still grumpy.  We hissed at Race, which always gets him frantically playful, trying to kiss our faces to make us stop hissing (we have no idea why he does this!).  Miki left in disgust, then came back because he was jealous of the attention being paid to Race.

Mo'i just slept through it all, even when Miki and Race stepped on him.  That's our Mo'i...

We got up.

Sigh...

Despotism Made Easy...

Interesting reading...

Super-Weapon for Infantrymen is Now in Afghanistan...

The XM25 rifle fires 25mm (about 1 inch) diameter rounds that explode behind or over cover hiding enemy soldiers.  It's a game-changer that has the potential to revolutionize infantry warfare – and very much to our troops' advantage, since our current enemies are unlikely to be able to duplicate (or even understand) the technology.

Combat trials of this weapon system have begun, and the initial reports are very positive.  The weapon is at least as effective as advertised, and is unexpectedly easy for our troops to pick up and use.

The Taliban just got some bad news.

The video below explains how the XM25 works, and here's more information.

Excellent Investment Advice...

Before Google's IPO, they engaged several finance experts to come in and educate their millionaires-to-be about investment.  One expert's advice:

...Stanford University’s William (Bill) Sharpe, 1990 Nobel Laureate economist and professor emeritus of finance at the Graduate School of Business. Sharpe drew a large and enthusiastic audience, which he could have wowed with a PowerPoint presentation on his “gradient method for asset allocation optimization” or his “returns-based style analysis for evaluating the performance of investment funds.” But he spared the young geniuses all that complexity and offered a simple formula instead. “Don’t try to beat the market,” he said. Put your savings into some indexed mutual funds, which will make you just as much money (if not more) at much less cost by following the market’s natural ebb and flow...

The same advice was delivered by multiple investment experts.  For about ten years now, it's what I've been doing (though I'm using ETFs instead of mutual funds, but same idea).  I'm happy with the results.  I know lots of people who are not happy with the results of their attempts to beat the market...

Think the TSA is a Pain Now? Just You Wait...

John Fund of the WSJ:

...But if you think TSA is dysfunctional and unpopular now, wait until it unionizes. This month, the Federal Labor Relations Authority ruled that 50,000 TSA personnel will be allowed to vote on whether or not to join a union with full collective bargaining rights. The American Federation of Government Employees and the National Treasury Employees Union are already gearing up their campaigns to win over the screeners.

After 9/11, Congress wisely decided to forbid TSA employees from coming under union work rules out of fear that it could compromise security. Imagine if every change in procedures had to be cleared with union shop stewards. While it is not easy to fire TSA personnel now, just think how difficult it will be to remove bad employees if they are covered by union job protection agreements...

Read the whole thing...

Jesus is Watching You...

Via reader Simi L., who says this is one of his favorites:

A burglar broke into a house one night. He shined his flashlight around, looking for valuables when a voice in the dark said "Jesus knows you're here."

He nearly jumped out of his skin, clicked his flashlight off, and froze. When he heard nothing more, after a bit, he shook his head and continued. Just as he pulled the stereo out so he could disconnect the wires, clear as a bell he heard "Jesus is watching you"'

Freaked out, he shined his light around frantically, looking for the source of the voice. Finally, in the corner of the room, his flashlight beam came to rest on a parrot.

"Did you say that?" he hissed at the parrot.

"Yep", the parrot confessed, then squawked, "I'm just trying to warn you that he is watching you."

The burglar relaxed. "Warn me, huh? Who in the world are you?"

"Moses," replied the bird.

"Moses?" the burglar laughed. "What kind of people would name a bird Moses?"

"The kind of people that would name a Rottweiler Jesus."

Parrot 1.
Burglar 0.

This is So True!

Via Amy L.:

Evolution at Work...

Debbie came up with the tagline:

A Musical Surprise...

I'd sure like to have witnessed this:

Another Lovely Day...

It's cold here today; the kind of day we used to call “raw”.  The temperature has been around 43°F (5°C) all day, the humidity has been high most of the day, and the wind is howling.  We got almost a quarter inch of rain last night (but no more expected for at least a week, dang it).

So it was the perfect day for soup.  Debbie and I made tlapeno, a clear-broth Mexican chicken soup with garbanzo beans, carrots, potatoes, and rice.  The broth is flavored with smoked chipotle peppers, and we serve it with a topping of cubed avocado, chopped fresh cilantro, and thinly sliced green onions.  For ours, we substituted turkey meat and homemade turkey stock.  Wonderful stuff!

We had fun making it, too – not least because of the assistance of our four-strong canine cleanup crew.  For example, as I was preparing the carrots, the dogs ate the carrot ends I cut off before they could hit the floor.  They didn't like the potato peels very well, but just about everything else was a hit – even the cilantro!

Yesterday the day was so lovely that we changed our plans and headed up for one of our favorite drives: forest road 14S05 from Pine Valley to Laguna Mountain.  This one-lane paved road starts off in some of the prettiest sagebrush country around, and wends up over a few miles through various chaparral and riparian scenes, including a square mile or so of ground-cover manzanita that are only a couple of feet tall.  Eventually it ends up in the pine forests of Laguna's heights.

Before we turned onto 14S05, though, we checked to see if Frosty Burger in Pine Valley was open.  And it was!  That meant we could enjoy a treat: the best fish sandwiches we've ever found in San Diego, along with the best french fries.  Frosty Burger is a little mom-and-pop shop that makes great old-fashioned fast food: burgers, shakes (including malts), french fries – and an unreasonably good fish sandwich made with cod.  Yum!

By the time we got home, we weren't hungry enough to make a meal.  But we had previously purchased a pint of beautiful blackberries.  So I whipped up a zabaglione sauce (about 5 minutes work if you've never done it, and a first-class dessert) and we had zabaglione sauce over those luscious blackberries.  Good enough to make your brains fall out!

The zabaglione recipe calls for four egg yolks, which meant we had four leftover egg whites.  What to do with them?  Why, whip them together with a little heavy cream and some nutmeg, and you've got the best dog treat ever invented!  I did that, poured it into the dog dishes, and stood back to watch four dogs try to inhale their treat.  Happy dogs!

What Your Computer Does When You Leave It Alone...

Via my mom: go here and click on play.

Our Thanksgiving Day...

Usually we spend Thanksgiving Day with friends and family, at home (whether ours or someone else's).  This year we did something completely different.

For starters, we got up before dawn and headed for our local mountains to see if we could spot some wildlife.  We didn't do so well on the wildlife front, but we did see some unexpected beauty caused by the combination of rain and sub-freezing weather.  Our drive took us up the short road to Stonewall Mine (in Cuyamaca State Park), through large meadows where we often spot deer and bobcats.  Yesterday we saw the wintry scene at right: thick frost on all the plants in the meadow.  It was melting before our eyes from the sun that had popped over the horizon just a few minutes before we got there.

Further along that same road, we came to a low split-rail fence that was particularly pretty (at left).  Below you'll find a few close-ups that are interesting for the ice crystals that appear on the grain of the wood (some of which you can see at left).  The temperature outside was about 30°F (about -1°C) – very cold for us Southern Californians!

Later we drove up to Laguna Mountain.  There we saw something quite unexpected, and very difficult to capture in a photograph – the trees and bushes were covered in a thin layer (about 1/8", or 3mm) of ice that was as transparent as lead crystal glass.  What really made this stand out is that the northern flanks of Laguna Mountain all burned three years ago, and there are vast stands of the trunks and branches of burnt, dead trees and shrubs.  These were all coated with ice – and they were backlit by the early morning sun as we drove south on the Sunrise Highway.  The result was large shiny patches and stripes all over the mountains and hills.

Debbie and I struggled for a while to explain why these shiny patches had suddenly appeared – but then we drove past a stand of ice-coated manzanita skeletons, and then we understood.  The photo at right shows the lighting effects of the ice, though not very well.  Try to imagine what this would look like if I had taken a good photograph...then multiply that by 100 billion or so, and you'll have an idea what we were looking at.

We finished our drive by about 10 am, and now we were hungry.  Debbie made some delicious buckwheat pancakes (from 100% buckwheat flour, easy to buy on the Internet these days).  We slopped some excellent maple syrup on them and had ourselves a grand breakfast.  Later in the day, when we once again got hungry, we made ourselves a real treat: pan-fried eastern scallops (just butter and garlic – yum!), a casserole-like accompaniment made with bell peppers, mushrooms, sharp cheddar cheese, breadcrumbs, and milk, and rice.

The rest of the day we just relaxed, had a little wine, and were generally lazy and useless.  A wonderful day!

A few more photos from our drive:

SSH Commando...

25 geekly SSH beauties...

Flaming Nebulae!

As always, click to enlarge. From APOD, of course.

TSA Meets Lady Liberty...

Yup, that pretty much says it...

Nissan Leaf's EPA Gas Mileage Rating...

The Obama administration recently gave the Nissan Leaf plug-in electric vehicle a mileage rating of 99 MPG.  That makes it look very good compared to almost any gasoline-powered vehicle.  But what does an MPG rating even mean on an electric vehicle?  And is it a fair comparison of the energy consumption of the Nissan Leaf to a gasoline-powered vehicle?

Many folks are skeptical of the benefits of all-electric vehicles.  In fact, there are very good reasons to wonder about the wisdom of producing them at all.  This debate is completely overshadowed, however, by the loud support that all-electric vehicles get from the usual suspects in the environmental wacko world, and from the Obama adminstration and their lapdog lamestream media. 

So what's the actual truth here?  Warren Meyer, of Coyoteblog fame, has an excellent analysis in the current issue of Forbes.  If you're curious (and you should be, as your tax dollars are subsidizing GM's Volt), read it and understand...

Public Sector Jobs Growing the Economy?

Why creating public sector jobs is useless for growing the economy:

The Fake Taliban Negotiator...

IowaHawk has the inside scoop.  Put down your morning beverage first, swallow your last gulp, then read...

If You're Traveling Over Thanksgiving...

Buck Howdy is thinking about you:




Meanwhile, we're thankful to be staying home all four days of this holiday (except for an excursion into our local mountains this morning)...

Blue vs. Red...

For the past 100 years or so, U.S. politics have been essentially a contest between two political parties: Republicans and Democrats.  While other parties and independent candidates have most certainly run, not one of them has ever achieved even political importance, much less dominance.

The “movie” below shows graphically which parts of the country voted for Republicans (red) and for Democrats (blue).  The saturation of the color represents the degree of dominance.  The movie starts around 1920 and ends in 2008.  It would be interesting indeed to see this movie extended to include the 2010 elections!

Settled Science...

The term “settled science” appears in the IPCC reports and has become a key catch-phrase in the AGW debates.  The basic notion put forth by AGW proponents is that the (alleged) consensus of “professional climatologists” must be true, as the magnitude of the consensus indicates that all scientific debate on the topic has been “settled”.  Ergo, to all skeptics, they say STFU.

Well, anyone even modestly acquainted with the history of science knows that there are many, many examples of “settled science” (using the notion described above to define the term) that turned out later to be bogus.  One of my favorite examples is from geology, where in my lifetime the theory of plate tectonics completely overturned the “settled science” of stationary continents. 

This morning I came across a delightful list of such examples.  Many of the entries were reminders for me, such as the relatively recent discovery that stomach ulcers are caused by bacteria (but the previous “settled science” attributed them to stress).  Many other entries were entirely new to me.  The simple existence of this (eminently verifiable) list is a wonderful refutation of the AGW proponents notion of “settled science” – and a reminder of the permanent importance of skepticism to science...

The More I See of this Guy...

...the more impressed I am.

Very Cool – But a Nightmare for Some Folks...

Flying snakes.

Oh, Boy...

Most of my readers know that I work in the software industry.  This industry has the rare good fortune to suffer only the occasional bout of government interference.  That may be about to change.  I'd say that the chances of the government doing a good job at this, without undue burden on software companies, is approximately the same chance as the Post Office offering friendly and effective customer service, or the TSA providing real security instead of security theatre.  If this bill passes, you can bet that software innovation will gradually migrate to a friendlier locale...

Rainy Morning...

Up at 3 am as usual, and out with the dogs for our morning walk at 3:20 am.  When I opened our front door, I was surprised to hear a light patter of raindrops on our roof.  The dogs, of course, couldn't possibly care less whether it was wet outside.  They bounded out, happily, to do their morning business – and came back in only reluctantly.

It is amazing just how wet a dog can get on a five minute walk!  You'd think our mutts had been swimming...

Kristallnacht...

Just over 62 years ago, on November 9, 1938, the Nazis unleashed Kristallnacht on their Jewish citizens.  This is a short video piece, with contemporaneous footage.  Via reader Simon M.:




If you listen to the Arabs and Iranians today, you can't help but realize that 62 years later, this could happen again...

Down South...

Bill Cosby has some fun with a Southern accent and some confusing geography.  YouTube has dozens of such video clips of Bill Cosby, and every one of them I watched was just as funny.  Via my mom:

Rescued Baby Hummingbird...

Via my mom:

Drug Problem...

Click the thumbnail at right to read this newspaper clipping.  It's probably not what you're expecting!  Via my cousin Mike D.

I had this kind of drug problem when I was a kid...

Honoring the Fallen...

A video news story you won't want to miss.  I have to link, as the video is not embeddable.  Via my mom:

An Excellent Story...

It combines SR-71s, pilot machismo, and geekiness.  And it's allegedly a true story.  What more could you possibly want?

Happy Dog Story...

At 12 years, Lea is our oldest dog (the photo at right is four years old).  She's still in good health except for a condition that affects her coat, but she's definitely showing signs of age.  It's harder for her to get going in the morning, and she can no longer jump up on our bed as she used to.

So she gets a little special treatment now and then, and I make sure to pay attention to her each morning.  Over the weekend, Debbie had the other three dogs at an agility meet (where they took 3 first places and 1 second place) – so Lea was home with me with no dogly companions.  I made her a treat that she really enjoyed: I broke up a couple pieces of bread into small pieces, soaked them in milk, and warmed up the resulting concoction.  Dog heaven!  She dug into that with much more gusto than she normally expends on her food.  It was obvious how much she enjoyed that treat.  Sure felt good to make our old girl so happy...

A Tree...

Via reader Jim M., who obviously knows the sorts of photos I like:

Bobcats...

Via reader Jim M.:

Lie Detector...

Via my mom, who points out that it's just as applicable today as when it was made:

What is This?

Dunes on Mars.  Via APOD (of course!).  Click to enlarge.

Inspirational Poster...

I Want One!

More Governor Awesome!

Rain!

For the current storm, we're at just under an inch and a half of rain so far.  More rain is in the forecast for today, tomorrow, and possibly on Tuesday...

Dew Drops...

Here's a collection of the most stunning photos of dew drops that I've ever seen.  The one at right (click to enlarge) shows dew drops on a blue dragonfly's head.  The link above takes you to the collection – and if you click on the photos in the collection you'll link to even more!

TSA Bumper Snickers...

At least ten people emailed these to me this week, so chances are you've already seen them.  But just in case...click on the thumbnail at right (but put your coffee down first)...

Soyuz Landing...

Some very cool photos of a Soyuz landing (as always, click to enlarge)...

Marines, Guns, Nail Clippers, and the TSA...

Stupid TSA story of the day.

While traveling home from Houston on Friday night, I witnessed some of the TSA behavior that so many Americans find objectionable.  As I was waiting in the security line, I watched a female TSA agent “pat down” a sweet little old lady (Caucasian, appearing to be in her 70s, speaking with a pronounced Texas drawl) who was absolutely mortified.  “Pat down” is in quotes because you and I would have called it groping and fondling.  At precisely the same time, a group of four men in their 20s and 30s, dressed in Arab garb, walked through the adjacent metal detector.  They gawked at the little old lady being groped while they walked out of security with no other checks.  I discovered later that the four young men were Yemeni – and if you're paying attention to the news, you know that Yemen is a hot spot of terrorist activity.

On what planet does this behavior make sense?  Only on Planet Progressive, where political correctness trumps security every time...

By the way...  Do you know how many terrorists the TSA has caught in their airport screening, in all they years they've been irritating us?  Zero.  That's right – zero.  Not one.  Nada.  Hundreds of millions of dollars spent, and the only success they've had is in cowing the American public.

Time for them to go.  Let's subcontract our airport security to the Israelis!

Ann Coulter Quotes...

A “25 Best” collection.  Sample:

This is liberalism's real strength. It is no longer susceptible to reductio ad absurdium arguments. Before you can come up with a comical take on their worldview, some college professor has already written an article advancing the idea.

She's the very definition of “pithy conservative”...