Boomer...

Boomer is a six-month old border collie, with the same parents as Race. He's not ours; he belongs to an Australian couple who has left them here with us until February. The intent was to have Debbie do some foundation agility training, but that's not working out quite as expected. A few weeks before he came to our house, Boomer had a freakish accident while playing, and broke his right rear leg badly. When we first got him, he was just a few days past a surgery to repair his leg. Just a few days ago, he had a second surgery, and he's now back here with us, recovering once again (these photos were taken two days after the surgery). And the poor little fellow has yet another surgery to face, roughly a month away. Yikes! But despite it all, he's a typical joyous, bouncing puppy...

Tippy...

We don't know Tippy's exact age, as he was a rescue (from our old neighborhood in Chula Vista) – but we figure he's roughly 16 or 17 years old.  He's still going strong, though he doesn't move quite as fast, nor jump quite as high as he used to.  And he's gotten a little grumpy and intolerant in his dotage.  Like most old cats, he spends most of his day just sleeping, preferably in a puddle of sunlight somewhere.  Here you see him evincing his displeasure at my thrusting a camera into his face (these photos today were all taken with a very wide-angle lens at very close range)...

Race...

Say “Hello!” to Race, the bug-eyed border collie who runs like the wind...

How do you like that nose?  If you touch it, it's all wet and squishy – but don't let that fool you.  Race uses that nose like a battering ram, and he's quite capable of bruising you by ramming it into your arm or leg...

Maka Lea...

Little Maka Lea is probably our sweetest little kitty, despite (or maybe because of) his neurological damage. Just walking across the carpet poses big challenges for him; he's quite likely to fall over in the attempt. He doesn't have any of the balance that normal cats have, so jumping off of high places means he just rolls and flops uncontrollably in the air, then lands on whatever happened to be down at that moment (frequently that's his head!). Despite his rather profound handicap, he's a happy guy, always ready for some attention, always quick to come over and say “hi!” – and the only cat we have who is completely unafraid of strangers...

Jahar...

This is our little Savannah cat, only he's not so little any more.  At just over a year old, he's about the same size and weight as the larger of other cats.  He hasn't lost any of his behaviors; I play with him daily with a toy “bird” that he loves to chase, making spectacular leaps as high as four feet or so...

Some Special Forces “Operators” Really Don't Like Obama...

And they're not afraid to let you know that:

A More Complex Subject Than You Might Think...

Baumgartner Did It!

He's certainly set one record (highest balloon ascent), and probably set another (going supersonic while in freefall).  He landed safe and sound, didn't even fall down though he was wearing the heavy and clumsy flight suit.

The world got to watch the entire thing, thanks to the 30+ cameras plastered all over the capsule and Baumgartner's suit, the amazing visible light and infrared ground cameras, and the equally amazing helicopter-mounted cameras that tracked him while under canopy.  We watched him land under canopy, and fall to his knees – presumably in thanksgiving for a safe adventure.

Wow.  Just wow.

I love it that this whole thing was privately-funded as a marketing venture, something foretold by several science fiction stories I read as a kid in the '60s.  And even more, I love it that Baumgartner insisted on getting Joe Kittinger (the previous record holder for high-altitude jumping) involved.  That was a class act, Mr. Baumgartner, a real class act...

Stratos...

Red Bull Stratos is the name of the mission, a commercially-funded mission to the edge of space (to quote their PR materials).  As I write this, the capsule, with Felix Baumgartner, is ascending through 110,000 feet altitude, and still rising at about 1,000 feet/minute.  The photo at right is from live video taken by cameras on the ground.  Taking full advantage of modern technology, the capsule and Baumgartner himself are plastered with cameras, and we're watching it live, so clear that it's almost as if it were happening in our back yard.

This is in stark contrast to the current record holder's jump, made by Joe Kittinger back in 1960.  For that jump, Joe Kittinger had very little in the way of instrumentation or imagery.  Furthermore, Felix's position is known with a precision that was completely unachievable back in 1960.

Joe Kittinger is still alive and kicking, at age 84, and he's a part of Felix's team.  He's the primary communicator on the ground, talking with Felix.  Nice.

Difference Engine...

Christian Hansen, writing at Hummus and Magnets, has a couple of posts on Charles Babbage's Difference Engine.  Both are excellent, and I look forward to the promised rest of the series...

Tables
Differences

No Global Warming for the Past 16 Years...

So says a report quietly issued by the U.K.'s “Met” – the same agency that initially raised the anthropogenic global warming scare almost 20 years ago.  For some reason, this doesn't make the news headlines...

Iowa Electronic Markets...

At right is this morning's Iowa Electronic Markets graph.  Romney's position continues to improve, but Obama is still favored, 1.58:1...

Baumgartner Has Launched...

...on his way up to a record altitude (in a balloon), and from which he's planning to more records – especially for altitude, and for the first time ever, for a supersonic freefall...

We Wonder...

Chris Christie Has a Story...

Why Pilots Prefer Airplanes Over Women...

Via reader Simi L.:

Why Pilots Prefer Airplanes Over Women

• Airplanes usually kill you quickly; a woman takes her time.
• Airplanes can be turned on by a flick of a switch.
• Airplanes don't get mad if you do a "touch and go."
• Airplanes don't object to a pre-flight inspection.
• Airplanes come with a manual to explain their operation.
• Airplanes have strict weight and balance limitations.
• Airplanes can be flown at any time of the month.
• Airplanes don't come with in-laws.
• Airplanes don't care about how many other airplanes you've flown before.
• Airplanes and pilots both arrive at the same time.
• Airplanes don't mind if you look at other airplanes.
• Airplanes don't mind if you buy airplane magazines.
• Airplanes expect to be tied down.
• Airplanes don't comment on your piloting skills.
• Airplanes don't whine unless something is really wrong.
• However, when airplanes go quiet, just like women, it's usually not good.

Curiosity: A Piece of Fluff...

Here's a close-up photo of the little piece of plastic that fell off the Rover.  The folks at JPL have concluded that it's likely a piece of detritus that fell off the skycrane during landing, and then subsequently fell off the Curiosity rover – most likely while it was waving it's arm around over Rocknest...

The Casual Vacancy...

I've just finished reading The Casual Vacancy by J. K. Rowling (the author of the Harry Potter series).  I enjoyed it, well enough that I'll buy and read whatever she writes next – but it sure was a big surprise!

First, it is most definitely not aimed at kids.  Unusually mature young adults might find it interesting, but clearly the main audience is adults, especially those with children (or at least with an interest in children).  Unlike with the Harry Potter series, in this book the plot isn't the core of the book – instead, it's with the detailed study of different personalities, of personal interactions (and their consequences, intended or not), and most especially of how children are impacted by the behavior of the adults around them.  There are quite a few interesting characters in this novel, and every one of them is painted with great attention to detail.  The entire novel is plausible – even, unusually, the bit of technical wizardry that is part of the plot (some kids hacking into a web site). 

When I finished, I wondered to myself if there was anything about her new novel that was like the Harry Potter series – because at first blush they seem utterly different.  But I did identify one common thread: complexity.  This novel, like the Harry Potter books, is engineered – by which I mean that she absolutely must have started by thinking out all the characters, their inter-relationships, and the timeline of events.  I know for certain that she did exactly this with the Harry Potter series, because I've seen her worksheet (a sort of handwritten spreadsheet) for that published on the web somewhere.  I'd be willing to bet you that she did the same thing for The Casual Vacancy.  It's just too darned complex to have happened by accident.

Bottom line: thumbs up.  It will take you a chapter or two to get immersed in the world she crafts, but after that you'll be completely engrossed...

WTF Happened Last Night???

Well, that was just about the strangest political “debate” I've ever seen.  I was expecting entertainment, but I got something else instead.  I don't think either Ryan or Biden was the clear winner on either substance or debate style.  But I do think there was a winner: everybody who watched the debate – because we learned a lot about both men.

We learned that Ryan was out of his depth, and is somewhat uncomfortable, with foreign policy issues – but despite this, he was able to hold his own with the much more experienced Biden.

We learned that Martha Raddatz was an excellent moderator, despite the right's trashing of her before the debate, and accusing her of pandering to Biden after the debate.  She did no such thing – she was professional and even-handed throughout, and did a very effective job of asking questions that provoked potentially interesting answers.  The candidates didn't live up to the expectations she set, but that's their fault, not hers.  Kudos to Ms. Raddatz.

We learned that Biden was an uncouth, impolite, bullying jerk; full of bluster and blarney, and fond of yelling from the bar stool.

We learned (or rather, had reinforced) Ryan's strength on economic issues.

We learned how lucky we are that Obama hasn't been killed or incapacitated – because the idea of Joe Biden as president is positively terrifying (I would thing that's true even for loyal Democrats).

We learned that Ryan looks and behaves like a level-headed, grounded adult.  At least from behavioral cues, it's at least not frightening to imagine him as president.

We learned (or rather, had reinforced) how effective Biden's down-home, folksy mannerisms are.  Unfortunately for him, this was more than counter-balanced by his downright bizarre behaviors and constant rude interruptions of Ryan.

We learned that women find Ryan strong, comforting, and easy on the eye (despite his party affiliation), and that they find Biden kind of creepy and definitely not comforting (despite his party affiliation).

The winner?  Us, hands-down.  The loser, politically?  Probably the Obama/Biden ticket, because they didn't get the sort of boost from this debate that they so badly needed after the first Obama/Romney debate.

Here are some thoughts from others:

Nick Gillespie, Reason: The Smirk Store Is Out of Smirks...
Michael Barone, Washington Examiner: Biden Didn't Put a Dent in Romney...
Neoneocon: Biden Was Like the Drunken Blowhard...
Peter Suderman, Reason: Very Specific Malarkey...

Less than an hour after the debate finished, the Republican National Committee had a new ad up, making extensive use of Uncle Joe's bizarre debate behavior.  On nearly a daily basis something like this happens with a speed that leaves me gobsmacked.  An hour?!?  Before I could really even collect my thoughts, they had a polished and effective ad up on the Internet.  Just amazing...

Oh, Boy...

I can hardly wait for tonight's debate.  Not for the political content; I'm not expecting much of interest there.  Not because I think the debate is likely to be consequential, either – I suspect the VP debate won't mean as much to the outcome of the election as will the weather on election night.  I'm looking forward to this for the pure entertainment value.  Ryan vs. Biden in a vice presidential debate is kind of like F-35 vs. MiG-1 in a dogfight...

I'll be watching, with a glass of wine and a snack or two...

Little Red Hen, 2012 Edition...

Via my mom, whom I suspect is not voting for Obama:

The Little Red Hen

"Who will help me plant my wheat?" asked the little red hen.

"Not I," said the cow.

"Not I," said the duck.

"Not I," said the pig.

"Not I," said the goose.

"Then I will do it by myself." She planted her crop and the wheat grew and ripened.

"Who will help me reap my wheat?" asked the little red hen.

"Not I," said the duck.

"Out of my classification," said the pig.

"I'd lose my seniority," said the cow.

"I'd lose my unemployment compensation," said the goose.

"Then I will do it by myself," said the little red hen, and so she did.

"Who will help me bake the bread?" asked the little red hen.

"That would be overtime for me," said the cow.

"I'd lose my welfare benefits," said the duck.

"I'm a dropout and never learned how," said the pig.

"If I'm to be the only helper, that's discrimination," said the goose.

"Then I will do it by myself," said the little red hen.

She baked five loaves and held them up for all of her neighbors to see. They wanted some and, in fact, demanded a share but the little red hen said, "No, I shall eat all five loaves."

"Excess profits!" cried the cow (Nancy Pelosi)

"Capitalist leech!" screamed the duck (Barbara Boxer)

"I demand equal rights!" yelled the goose (Jesse Jackson)

The pig just grunted in disdain (Harry Reid)

And they all painted 'Unfair!' picket signs and marched around and around the little red hen, shouting obscenities.

When the farmer (Obama) came, he said to the little red hen, "You must not be so greedy."

"But I earned the bread," said the little red hen.

"Exactly," said Barack the farmer. "That is what makes our free enterprise system so wonderful. Anyone in the barnyard can earn as much as he wants. But under our modern government regulations, the productive workers must divide the fruits of their labor with those who are lazy and idle."

And they all lived happily ever after, including the little red hen, who smiled and clucked, "I am grateful, for now I truly understand."

But her neighbors became quite disappointed in her. She never again baked bread because she joined the 'party' and got her bread free. And all the Democrats smiled. 'Fairness' had been established.

Individual initiative had died but nobody noticed; perhaps no one
cared so long as there was free bread that 'the rich' were paying for.

And perhaps...this is the end.

And the next week, there was no bread, or anything else to eat. So, they all starved equally.


EPILOGUE

Bill Clinton is getting $12 million for his memoirs.

Hillary got $8 million for hers.

That's $20 million for the memories from two people, who for eight years repeatedly testified, under oath, that they couldn't remember anything.

DO WE LIVE IN A GREAT BARNYARD OR WHAT?

Remember this when you vote next month...

Summary: Obama Administration on the Benghazi Attack...

I Hope Voters Listen to This Man...

About a decade ago, I worked for a now-defunct company called FutureTrade.  We made an electronic trading platform aimed at professional traders (mainly in hedge funds).  The company went through the usual sad failing company maneuvers, including a string of layoffs in which I lost my job there.  Eventually, months after I was gone, the company was sold to Interactive Brokers.  Their founder and CEO is Thomas Peterffy, who grew up in Hungary when it was a satellite of the Soviet Union.  He knows first-hand what socialism does to a country and its people, and he emigrated to America to escape that.  Listen to what he has to say:

LOTR Palate Cleanser...

If you're a Lord of the Rings fan, you'll get a chuckle from this:

What Do Doctors Think of Obamacare?

Anecdotally I know that many doctors despise Obamacare, and are planning major changes to their practices to deal with it.  Basically those changes involve them not accepting Obamacare-funded patients.  But is there a better measure than the stories I've heard locally?

Here's the best thing I've seen yet: a poll of doctors to see whether they supported Obama (a proxy for Obamacare) or Romney (who has repeatedly said that he'd repeal Obamacare).  The answer: doctors want Romney, by more than 2 to 1...

Stiff Duties on Solar Panels...

The U.S. government has just slapped stiff import duties on Chinese-made solar panels and solar cells.  This is the kind of thing that just makes me crazy – an action that is clearly against the national self-interest, an action that raises prices for American citizens.  Why would we do such a thing?  Because it's very popular politically, that's why.  It allows a politician (Obama) to claim that he is protecting American jobs from those hateful, marauding Chineses faux entrepreneurs who want to push prices so low that it's unfair to American manufacturers.  American manufacturers stuck with the costs of unions, labor costs near the global top, chained down with regulations that inhibit innovation, and just plain beat by eager Chinese entrepreneurs.

Import duties never work to protect American industry.

Import duties always hurt consumers, both directly and indirectly (from the ensuing trade wars).

And yet we keep trying them.

How long can a nation of idiots survive, anyway?

Disturbing...

I happen to be a white male, so this is unlikely to happen to me were I to visit New York City.  But if it did happen to me, I would be royally ticked off.  Why are we doing this to American citizens?  Why are our courts allowing it?

This doesn't seem like the America I grew up in...



Stacy Dash's Tweet...

I'm sure you've heard about this: Stacy Dash (an actress I'd never heard of before) recently tweeted her support for Mitt Romney.  From the response of our tolerant, peace-loving Progressives, you'd think she'd declared nuclear war on Big Bird, single-handedly clubbed every Harp Seal cub born this year, and personally sprayed DDT into every bird nest in North America.  The reason?  She's black.  According to the Progressive narrative, authentic blacks are Democrats, period, full stop.  Can't have them wandering off the plantation now, can we?

Listen to her reaction.  I cheered.

Curiosity: A Piece of Itself...

Scientists studying photos taken by Curiosity (currently working at Rocknest) noticed something odd a few days ago: a bright object of some sort right near the Martian rover.  The immediate suspicion was that something had fallen off the rover, and that might not be good.  So they directed the high-powered lens of the Chemcam to take a closer look (see circled object at right).  They've now concluded that it was some insignificant piece of plastic, such as cable insulation.  It doesn't appear to indicate any sort of problem at all.

While it proved to be most useful, I don't think that this sort of use was what they had in mind for Chemcam :-)

Paul Krugman is a Useful Idiot...

Useful to the Progressives, that is.  And yes, I know he won a Nobel Prize in Economics.  He's still an idiot.  Winning a Nobel Prize doesn't prevent either idiocy or assholery.  If you'd like some evidence for that, just look at the list of Nobel Peace Prize winners.

Anyway, John Hinderaker of PowerLine does a great job of spanking Paul Krugman, who shows every sign of desperately needing a good spanking...

The Day the Progressive Narrative Died?

It's too soon to declare that happy day, but here's a development that is at least quite interesting, and possibly an indicator of a sea change.  Lara Logan is a reporter for CBS News (a conventionally biased charter member of the lamestream media), and has evinced a decidedly Progressive viewpoint in the past.  Here, Logan is being reported on by Laura Washington of the Chicago Sun-Times – itself a cherished member of the lamestream media:

Logan stepped way out of the “objective,” journalistic role. The audience was riveted as she told of plowing through reams of documents, and interviewing John Allen, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan; Afghan President Hamid Karzai, and a Taliban commander trained by al-Qaida. The Taliban and al-Qaida are teaming up and recruiting new terrorists to do us deadly harm, she reports.

She made a passionate case that our government is downplaying the strength of our enemies in Afghanistan and Pakistan, as a rationale of getting us out of the longest war. We have been lulled into believing that the perils are in the past: “You’re not listening to what the people who are fighting you say about this fight. In your arrogance, you think you write the script.”

Our enemies are writing the story, she suggests, and there’s no happy ending for us.

As a journalist, I was queasy. Reporters should tell the story, not be the story. As an American, I was frightened.

Logan even called for retribution for the recent terrorist killings of Christopher Stevens, the U.S. ambassador to Libya, and three other officials. The event is a harbinger of our vulnerability, she said. Logan hopes that America will “exact revenge and let the world know that the United States will not be attacked on its own soil. That its ambassadors will not be murdered, and that the United States will not stand by and do nothing about it.”

In the “good old days,” reporters did not advocate, crusade or call for revenge.

In these “new” days in a post-9/11 world, perhaps we need more reporters who are willing to break the rules.

What fascinates me the most about this story is that in two major media outlets, two reporters are drifting way off the Progressive narrative.  This is something not often seen.  Let's hope it's just the beginning...

Rape?

I trust that the vast majority of my readers will instantly recognize the iconic photo at right.  I'm certain that the first thought that photo brings to mind isn't “Rape!”.  Which just goes to show you that most of my readers aren't progressive feminists.

Over at Riehl World, they have a decidedly less progressive and more traditional perspective.  The comments are fun to read, but one of them jumped out at me, from Mike C.:

Wow… just, wow.

Let me frame what I’m about to say: I scored a 1520 out of 1600 on my SATs. My family and friends consider me a pretty smart guy with an extensive vocabulary. I run my own business in a field which requires top-notch writing skills, data management skills, critical-thinking skills, and a lot of creativity.

However, in this situation, profanity is the only appropriate response.

F@&k you, you f@&king f@&ked-up “feminist” f@&ks.

Perfect.

Warning Letter to Employees...

David Siegel is the founder and CEO of Westgate Resorts, a timeshare resort company.  He's a self-made multi-millionaire, and one of those folks quite insulted by Obama's “You didn't build that!” speech.  He recently wrote a letter to his employees, the conclusion of which I've reproduced below:

Business is at the heart of America and always has been. To restart it, you must stimulate business, not kill it. However, the power brokers in Washington believe redistributing wealth is the essential driver of the American economic engine. Nothing could be further from the truth and this is the type of change they want.

So where am I going with all this? It's quite simple. If any new taxes are levied on me, or my company, as our current President plans, I will have no choice but to reduce the size of this company. Rather than grow this company I will be forced to cut back. This means fewer jobs, less benefits and certainly less opportunity for everyone.

So, when you make your decision to vote, ask yourself, which candidate understands the economics of business ownership and who doesn't? Whose policies will endanger your job? Answer those questions and you should know who might be the one capable of protecting and saving your job. While the media wants to tell you to believe the "1 percenters" are bad, I'm telling you they are not. They create most of the jobs. If you lose your job, it won't be at the hands of the "1%"; it will be at the hands of a political hurricane that swept through this country.

You see, I can no longer support a system that penalizes the productive and gives to the unproductive. My motivation to work and to provide jobs will be destroyed, and with it, so will your opportunities. If that happens, you can find me in the Caribbean sitting on the beach, under a palm tree, retired, and with no employees to worry about.

Yes, this has been verified.  You can read the whole letter and the backstory on Gawker...

No Demonstration at Benghazi Before the Attack?!?

The U.S. State Department is now denying that it ever thought there had been a demonstration about the anti-Islamic movie prior to the attack on our Benghazi consulate that killed four Americans.

What kind of game is being played here?

The first thing that came to my mind is that Hillary Clinton is yanking the rug out from under Obama – first he blames the Benghazi attacks on that stupid movie for weeks, then she says her department knew better all along.  Is this actually true?  If so, then some State Department folks never got the word, because they initially backed Obama's take.  Or is Hillary seeing the political problem, and distancing herself from it in order to better position herself for a 2016 run?  Or is she just being spiteful? 

I don't know any of these things, of course – just all random thoughts that came to mind after reading this extraordinary statement. 

Of course, another perfectly reasonable interpretation is that our government is run by a bunch of incompetent clowns.  But we know better than that, don't we?  Don't we???

Toroidal Vortices...

Extraordinary and beautiful artifacts of nature, produced by dolphins, whales, and volcanoes...

Put a Chair Out...

Peggy Noonan has a wonderful blog post, too short to excerpt:

A friend in Texas told me of some local difficulties in getting big Romney lawn signs. Its possible there’s been a run on those signs since the first debate, and maybe local GOP organizations are running out. You know what Romney supporters who cant find lawn signs should do? Put an empty chair on the lawn instead. Just one big empty chair. Says it all. Says it better.

Yes!

Iowa Electronic Markets...

They're moving toward Romney. It's now sitting at about 63:37 for Obama (about 1.7:1).

I'm fascinated that the market is holding such a large lead for Obama.  I wonder what information those investors are using to come to that conclusion?

If I were a betting man (and I'm not), buying Romney contracts at $0.37 sounds pretty good...

This Is True...

This Is True is a weekly newsletter, sent by email each Monday afternoon (Pacific Time).  Each issue has ten or so stories from the recent press, each story with a twist of some kind.  Some are just funny, some point out an injustice, and there are several recurring themes (such as the many failures of zero tolerance).  There are also several other features, such as the “Bonzer Site of the Week”, and the “Honorary Unsubscribe”  I look forward to reading it each Monday.

I started getting it many years ago, by subscribing to the free edition (still available).  I've forgotten exactly when I started reading it, but I think it was probably 1999 or 2000.  Sometime later I switched to the (very inexpensive) “premium” edition, which has a few more stories and features than the free edition.  More importantly, it supports the publisher (Randy Cassingham).  He and his wife, plus one helper, publish This Is True out of their home north of the San Juan Mountains of Colorado.

Randy recently asked his readers to help promote This Is True, and I'm happy to oblige.  Read about it here, where you can either sign up for the free edition or subscribe to the premium edition...

He So Loved the Poor...

Via my mom, the Bumper Snicker of the Day:

For At Least the Past 23 Years...

The Center for Responsive Politics has been collecting data on the contributors to political campaigns for the past 23 years.  This is a political transparency initiative; their goal is to inform voters about the special interests that influence (or at least, try to influence) elections.

For all those years, the number one source of corporate money for the Democratic Party has been Goldman Sachs.  Until this year, that is.  This year, Goldman Sachs is contributing 3:1 for Mitt Romney. 

Broadly speaking, other financial services firms have followed suit.  The Democratic Party has lost the hearts and minds of one of it's loudest – and richest – supporters.

Isn't it interesting that the Democratic Party has been the dominant recipient of the financial service industry's largesse over the years?  The Democrats love to bash Republicans for being in bed with the corporate fat cats, and yet the fattest cats of them all have actually been in bed with the Democrats all along. 

Obama fixed that.  Nice!

Words and Phrases Based on Obsolete Technology...

That headline caught my eye, and I just had to go off and read the article.  I had to laugh at myself when I did, because I knew every one of these terms – and more related ones.  For the most part, that's just a simple reflection of my age.  For instance, I'm plenty old enough to remember when telephones all had dials, and you really did have to “dial” a phone number.

But the most interesting one to me was the post about terms related to typography.  In junior high school I took a class in Graphic Arts, which included a segment on how to manually set type.  For some reason I really can't fathom, I did really well at setting type – I could very quickly pull the individual letters from the “California job case” they were stored in, place them properly in a frame, use en- and em-spaces, use shims for the line spacing, and quoins (photo at right) to tighten them all up in the frame.  I loved operating the old-fashioned letterpress, and I could stand in front of it for hours feeding each sheet of paper in manually while the press was operating at top speed (20 sheets/minute!). I took that course in the '60s, and even then this equipment was on the verge of obsolesence.  I remember Mr. Mayer, the teacher, complaining that it was difficult to replace some of the type, and he urged us to be careful with them. 

I haven't thought about typesetting for many years, and yet all the old terms and gear came right back to mind.  I'll bet you I could still set type today, after a few hours of practice.  But the equipment may only exist in museums today...

Do the Paul Ryan...

The ladies definitely seem to like Paul Ryan :)  I've overheard several fawning female conversations at work, where some of the participants are known progressives.  Uncle Joe Biden can't even come close...

Iowa Electronic Markets This Morning...

Now they seem to have consolidated at just over 2:1 for Obama.  It will be interesting to see what happens to this market after the Biden/Ryan debate this week, and also after the (much anticipated) news of an Obama campaign contributions scandal surfaces today – if there really is a foreign contributions scandal...

Curiosity: Collecting and Analyzing Martian Dirt...

Curiosity has successfully scooped up it's first “cup” of dirt, and has loaded it into the chemical laboratory.  This first sample won't be analyzed; it's just going to be vibrated through the entire laboratory to clean it out.  The next sample will actually be analyzed.

I like the rover's shadow in this photo:

Deconstruction...

Here's a nice analysis of the Obama campaign's talking points:

New Symbol for the Democratic Party...

Via my lovely bride:

The Democratic Party today announced that it is changing its symbol from the Donkey to a Condom because it more accurately reflects the Party's political stance.

A condom allows for inflation, halts production, destroys the next generation, protects a bunch of dicks, and gives you a sense of security while you're actually being screwed.

Hmmm... Yes!

New Ad...

This one from American Crossroads, Karl Rove's 527 PAC.  It doesn't pull any punches in the fight to deny Obama a second term. Via my lovely bride:

Curiosity: MHLI Looks at Dirt...

The Mars Hand Lens Imager onboard Curiosity is taking a close look at the Martian dirt in Rocknest:

OMG the Ball!

My lovely bride pointed out that this dog is the spittin' image of Race (our adult border collie).  Via friend and reader Simon M.:

If You've Lost Saturdy Night Live...

I don't watch television at all these days, and I haven't seen an episode of Saturday Night Live for at least 20 years.  From my reading, though, it seems that these days the show is just as biased toward progressives as the rest of the lamestream media.  Assuming that's true, then last night's skit is not good news for Obama: there's no way to spin this as pro-Obama – especially the closing line...

Israel Shoots Down an Unidentified Drone...

This drone almost had to be Iranian (either directly or through their proxy Hezbollah).  In any case, the Israeli radar and defense system was more than up to the task of dispatching this thing.  Israeli Defense Force (IDF) official video below, the full (public) story here.

Ouch!

Music...

Just Because...

Potentially Very Bright Comet Discovered...

It's potentially very bright because it's going to pass quite close to the sun, in late 2013.  Such predictions in the past have proved quite unreliable; some are bright, some are not.  The actual brightness depends on a lot of factors, only one of which is how close it appears to the sun.  Another critical factor: how many times it's been close to the sun before (which determines how much volatile material is left in the comet).

But...if they're right, and this comet really is brighter than the full moon, then it will almost certainly be the brightest comet in the history of humankind.  That will make it quite an event to see!

This Map Pretty Much Says It All...

Below is a heatmap of gasoline prices around the country.  Red is bad.  I live in California.  Ouch.

And the predictions in the news, if one is to believe anything coming from such muddle-headed fools, is that prices are headed to $6, $7, and possibly more $ per gallon.  I may work from home more often...

Our Unseemly “Betters”...

Mark Steyn has a few observations on the first presidential debate, including this bit:

The small things are not unimportant – and not just because, when "small" is defined as anything under 11 figures, "small" is a big part of the problem. If Americans can't muster the will to make Big Bird leave the government nest, they certainly will never reform Medicare. Just before the debate in Denver, in the general backstage melée, a commentator pointed out Valerie Jarrett, who is officially "Assistant to the President for Public Engagement and Intergovernmental Affairs," a vital position which certainly stimulates the luxury-length business-card industry. Not one in 100,000 Americans knows what she looks like, but she declines to take the risk of passing among the rude peasantry without the protection of a Secret Service detail. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has a private jet to fly him home from Washington every weekend.

The Queen of the Netherlands flies commercial, so does the Queen of Denmark. Prince William and his lovely bride, whom at least as many people want to get a piece of as Valerie Jarrett or Leon Panetta, flew to Los Angeles on a Royal Canadian Air Force boneshaker. It is profoundly unrepublican when minor public officials assume that private planes and entourages to hold the masses at bay are a standard perk of office. And it is even more disturbing that tens of millions of Americans are accepting of this. The entitlements are complicated, and will take some years and much negotiation. But, in a Romney administration, rolling back the nickel'n'dime stuff – ie, the million'n'billion stuff – should start on Day One.

Mitt made much of his bipartisan credentials in Denver. So, in that reach-across-the-aisle spirit, if we cannot abolish entirely frivolous spending, might we not at least attempt some economies of scale? Could Elmo, Grover, Oscar and Cookie Monster not be redeployed as Intergovernmental Engagement Assistant Jarrett's security detail? Could Leon Panetta not fly home on Big Bird every weekend?

This brings to mind Pelosi's unseemly insistance on having a private Air Force jet at her exclusive beck and call.  Only slightly less directly, it brings to mind another country that was notable for the privileges of its ruling class: the Soviet Union.  Steyn is absolutely right: both in the absolute and in the “optics” (the current euphemism for “appearance”), our government officials shouldn't be enjoying such privilege.  Especially when so many of our citizens are suffering under the general malaise of the economy...

With Supporters Like This...

...you don't need any more useful idiots!

If You're Lost the New Yorker...

The New Yorker, that well-known right-wing rag :), will run the cover below in next week's issue:

If you're a liberal candidate, and you've lost the New Yorker, you might as well just pack it in...

Mitt the Magician...

A meme that's making its rounds on the left is that Mitt Romney's O-tromping debate performance was enabled by cheating, using magician-like sleight-of-hand in plain view of an audience of millions.  They're accusing Romney of cheating by having a notebook full of zingers and canned answers on the podium, contrary to the debate's rules of engagement.

I have several reactions...

First, how utterly pathetic that response is – especially in the crystalline presence of Obama's incompetence behind the podium, and Romney's clear command of the facts in the lines of argument.  It's absurd and preposterous to contend that Romney won because of a few zingers read off a cheat sheet – and the accusers just look pathetic and implausible for their contention.  In the vernacular, with a nice pun thrown in: they look like losers.

Second, the “evidence” being offered up is entirely unconvincing, consisting only of some strident interpretation of fuzzy video that could be any number of things – including the handkerchief that Romney says it is.  The handkerchief that video clearly shows Romney using during the debate.

Third, it's completely implausible to any sentient being that Mitt Romney would resort to cheating.  That's like saying that Santa Claus stole the toys he handed out at Christmas, or that Barack Obama saved us from a much worse recession.  You can claim anything you want to claim, and repeat the claim as many times as you'd like – but that still doesn't make the claim true...

Pathetic. Loser. Chumps.

Headline: Unemployment Rate Falls to 7.1%...

But buried deep within the story is the reason why it fell - and it's not because there are fewer unemployed Americans.  Instead, more unemployed Americans have entered the “discouraged worker” category, and they're not counted as unemployed for the purposes of this bogus and misleading number.

The real number – the percentage of American workers who are out of work, whether “discouraged” or not – held steady at 14.7%.

The damned media is covering for The One again...

Oh My, Part II...

The speaker (former Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell) is a Democrat:

Biden is the Best Thing We've Got Going...

Rubio is very good with an audience.  Funny, too!

Nailed It...

Peter Suderman...

...says it better than I could:

There were moments in last night’s debate when you could almost imagine Mitt Romney being president, or at least playing one on TV. He was pithy. He was prepared. He was poised. He was very nearly presidential. But what he wasn’t, however, was specific—at least not in the ways that matter most. Romney’s performance was just that: a performance, designed to suggest what he might be like as president, but not what he would do.

Do yourself a favor: go read the whole thing...

Oh, My...

Taiwanese debate animation, already.  Warning: contains some cartoon violence...

Little Enquiring Minds Want to Know...

Also from The Onion (a satire webzine):

Sasha Obama Asks Father Why He Was Acting Like Such A Pussy During Debate

Romney Ferocious...

From The Onion (a satire webzine):

Mitt Romney Adopts New ‘Ronnie Ferocious’ Persona For Debates

Iowa Electronic Markets...

The slope is still steep, still headed Romney's way – but still favoring Obama overall, now at about 2:1.

We can't help but like the looks of the end of that graph...

Curiosity: Onwards to Rocknest...

Curiosity is about to start sampling soil, putting it through its on-board chemical laboratory.  The area pictured at right – sandy-looking soil with rocks jutting out of it – is the target.

Go, you little nuclear-powered go-kart, go!

Honey, I Shrunk the President...

That's the title of the inimitable James Taranto's column yesterday, in which he was at the top of his form.  Here's a sample:

We could spend hours quoting disparaging reviews of Obama's performances from journalists who were never as head-over-heels as Matthews and Sullivan, but we like to pretend as if we have space constraints, so we'll just take one representative example, also from the Daily Beast, where our friend Tunku Varadarajan writes: "My God, in the four years that we've seen him in the White House, I don't think we've ever seen the president so flaccid, so dull-brained, so jejune, so shifty, so downcast."

This columnist has to disagree. Obama's lame performance last night seemed typical to us. We can think of a few occasions in which we've seen the president less flaccid, less dull-brained, less jejune, less shifty, less downcast. But only a few.

But these qualities--or, to put it another way, this lack of quality--was harder than usual to miss last night because of the contrast with the highly effectual Romney. One reason it came as such a shock to Obama is that it was the first time in his career that he shared a debate stage with a serious opponent.

But do go read the whole thing...

Even Jon Stewart is Starting to Wonder About “The One”

Kids in San Diego Speak Out...

Via my lovely bride:

What the Debate Was Really Like...

Another New Romney Ad...

Terrorism Tradecraft...

Interesting article from Stratfor...

Quote of the Day...

From Peggy Noonan's column today in the Wall Street Journal, on Wednesday evening's presidential debate:

Mr. Obama's likability numbers are about to go down. It's going to be a reverse Sally Field: You don't like me, you really don't like me.

Ouch!

WTF? How Could This Be?

Someone observed a strange phenomenon and wanted an answer:

Every once in a while, my eighth-inch audio jack will slip loose and I'll seemingly lose only the voice part of a track -- leaving somewhat of a "karaoke" version. What I would guess about how audio plugs work suggests that I'd be making this up; however, I've asked and others tell me they've experienced this as well.

What causes this stripped vocals from audio when a 1/8' audio jack is partially unplugged?

The author of this question couldn't believe this was happening himself.  But I can easily imagine observing this myself, and becoming obsessed with getting an answer to this unexplainable, but repeatable, observation.  It's a bit like walking outside and seeing your car floating three feet in the air – but only when you've accidentally left your front door ajar on your way out.

Naturally, our geeky questioner went to the best crowd-sourcing site around for answering questions on electronics: Electronics StackExchange.  And they got an answer – a sensible, plausible, clever, and unexpected answer.  Go there and read the first answer on this post – it's a classic...

Iran Sanctions Appear to be Working...

Iran's currency is in hyper-inflation.  Bad for Iran's citizens, but worse for Iran's addled government...

Romney Ad...

This new ad went out yesterday, just one day after Biden's gaffe.  Last night's debate will provide much more fodder for Romney's excellent ad men...

Romney Wins One...

That's the consensus, from every point on the political spectrum.  Achieving a consensus like that is an achievement in and of itself :-)

I've got a big link roundup below for your edification. I don't think I'm exaggerating a bit when I say that the conservative pundits are over the moon, and the liberal pundits are howling in despair.  Speaking as someone whose desired outcome from this election is “not Obama”, if this same mood percolates to the electorate, then I'm a happy guy.

But I didn't have anything like the intensity of the emotional response of either group of pundits.  If I said the response of the liberal pundits was a “0”, and that of the conservative pundits was a “99”, then my own response is about a “51”.  Why?  Because I heard Romney making lots of big-government arguments last night, and that's most definitely not what I'd like to see in the country's chief executive.  For example, Romney made it clear that he has no intention of cutting federal education spending, or of even rationalizing military spending.  That's a big-government pol speaking, not the kind of pol that wants to slash the size of government.

Here's how I put it to my wife last night: it's as if we were planning a big night out, but someone forced us to choose between going to McDonalds or going to Burger King.  I badly wanted squash soup, lobster, and tira misu – but the choices I have are limited to a Big Mac or a Whopper.  I like the Big Mac better than the Whopper, but damn it, I wanted the lobster!  That's how I felt after last night's debate.

My own analysis, for what little it's worth: as a debater, Romney won – he absolutely smashed Obama into the dirty stage floor, and looked like he enjoyed doing it.  On the merits of the arguments, Romney also won, though much less convincingly.  There were some good zingers (pointed out in the linkfest below), mostly in favor of Romney.  The Iowa Electronic Markets took a bit jump this morning, in Romney's direction (though they still favor Obama by better than 2:1), an indication that people putting their money where their mouth is are having a similar reaction...

Bob Owens' tweet must sum up how the Obama team is feeling this morning (sorry, Bo):

Some people eat when they get depressed. I hope Michelle put Bo outside for the night.

The links:

Wall Street Journal
Andrew Sullivan
John Hinderaker: It's Over
National Journal: Liberals Livid
Jonah Goldberg: There Went the Boom 
Breitbart: Halfway Through, They Should Have Stopped the Fight
CoyoteBlog: Is This Really Political Discourse? 
Politico: Not Debatable: Obama Stumbles
Neoneocon: The Emperor's New Clothes
Roger Simon: The Night Liberalism Died 
Tim Blair: Race Identified 
Villainous Company: “Unexpectedly!”, Romney Wins Debate
Rob Long: The Spin Begins 
Mark Hemingway
Jack Dunphy: Mrs. Dunphy Sumps Up the Debate
Rick Wilson: Remarkable 
CATO: How the Media Undermined Obama's Debate Performance

Obama's Winning...

...in the crucial Halloween mask race.  Via reader Simon M.

Paraprosdokians...

A great collection of paraprosdokians (a favorite form of humor of Winston Churchill and Groucho Marx), via my mom:

1. Where there's a will, I want to be in it.

2. The last thing I want to do is hurt you. But it's still on my list.

3. Since light travels faster than sound, some people appear bright until you hear them speak.

4. If I agreed with you, we'd both be wrong.

5. We never really grow up, we only learn how to act in public.

6. War does not determine who is right - only who is left.

7. Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit.. Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.

8. To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism. To steal from many is research.

9. I didn't say it was your fault, I said I was blaming you.

10. In filling out an application, where it says, 'In case of emergency, Notify:' I put 'DOCTOR'.

11. Women will never be equal to men until they can walk down the street with a bald head and a beer gut, and still think they are sexy.

12. You do not need a parachute to skydive. You only need a parachute to skydive twice.

13. I used to be indecisive. Now I'm not so sure..

14. To be sure of hitting the target, shoot first, and call whatever you hit the target.

15. Going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than standing in a garage makes you a car.

16. You're never too old to learn something stupid.

17. I'm supposed to respect my elders, but it’s getting harder and harder for me to find one now.

18. You're nobody's fool ... but perhaps someone will adopt you.

19. Behind every successful man stands an astonishing mother-in-law.

It's the Doors!

Via my mom:

Ever walk into a room with some purpose in mind, only to completely forget what that purpose was? Turns out, doors themselves are to blame for these strange memory lapses. Psychologists at the University of Notre Dame have discovered that passing through a doorway triggers what's known as an event boundary in the mind, separating one set of
thoughts and memories from the next. Your brain files away the thoughts you had in the previous room and prepares a blank slate for the new locale."

It's not aging, it's the door! Whew! Thank goodness for studies!

Global Warming on Mars?

Reader Doug S. passes along this story of the unexpectedly warm temperatures Curiosity is finding on the surface of Mars...

Project Mohole Redux...

Geologist want to drill a hole all the way through the Earth's crust and take samples of the molten mantle.  This is far more difficult than most people realize, as this analogy hints at:

It will be the equivalent of dangling a steel string the width of a human hair in the deep end of a swimming pool and inserting it into a thimble 1/10 mm wide on the bottom, and then drilling a few meters into the foundations.

A tenth of a millimeter is roughly 1/250th of an inch. The drill “bits” used to drill through the very hard rock above the mantle only last for about 50 hours of drilling.  After each bit is worn out, the entire “string” of steel rod, miles long, has to be extracted, the working end brought to the surface, the bit replaced, and the entire thing re-inserted in the 30cm (roughly one foot) diameter hole in the sea floor.  To do this just once is an amazing feat.  To get to the mantle, they'll have to do it many dozens of times...

Night of the Living Pelosi...

John Dennis is a Republican candidate for the House of Representatives, running against California's shame: Nancy Pelosi.  Even more shameful than the fact that California has elected Pelosi in the past is that near-certainty that we will re-elect her again this year.  John Dennis has no real chance of winning in Pelosi's overwhelmingly leftist district – a district that includes a significant number of registered Communist and Socialist voters.

Dennis is running his campaign on a shoestring, as every potential contributor knows he has no chance of winning.  The campaign recently released this ad: Night of the Living Pelosi, which is definitely the kind of thing you're only likely to find in a place like modern California...


Oh, my...

Why Are People Surprised By This?

Last evening, the Daily Caller released the video below of Barack Obama addressing a mostly-black audience in 2007.  In the video he lavishly praises the Reverend Jeremiah Wright, and speaks with a recognizably “black”accent (still with the rest of his superb speaking voice, including his trademark calmness, authority, and tonality).  The reaction of most pundits seems to be surprise, but I can't figure out why.

In the campaign of 2008 (less than a year after this speech), he very publicly denounced Jeremiah Wright and quit attending Trinity church, as Wright's radical leftist views were obviously not going to help Obama get elected.  At the time, that seemed like a rather obvious hypocritical move designed to help Obama's image. 

I don't think it's surprising at all that Obama would have a very different message for an audience that was likely to think quite highly of the radical Reverend Wright.  Nor do I find it surprising that Obama adopted the accent of his heritage when speaking to that same group.  Both of these behaviors are standard fare for any politician, though most wouldn't be able to pull them off as smoothly as Obama did.  You have to give him credit for the skills he has as a politician, even if you don't like the man.

I think all that's really going on here is in the Internet age these time-honored behaviors of politicians are much more likely to be revealed.  In an era when practically everyone carries a video camera on their person (in their phone), and when anybody can post a video to YouTube for all to see, it's nearly impossible for any politician to keep such shenanigans confidential.

The speech is instructive to watch for at least one reason: it transforms into absolute certainty our suspicion of Obama's hypocrisy in denouncing Reverend Wright in 2008...

Curiosity: Scenes Along the Way...

Curiosity is still chugging away up there on Mars, quietly doing great science work every day.  All systems are now checked out, and Curiosity is in perfect health except for one non-critical weather sensor.  Hoo-ahh!

Taking Hope from Little Squiggles...

The latest results from the Iowa Electronic Markets are at right.  They're still calling Obama a 3:1 favorite over Romney, but looky there at the end of the lines – a little squiggle that shows (for two days, anyhow) a reversal of the previously inexorable rise of Obama's trajectory.

I takes my hope from little squiggles on charts...

Confused Twaddle...

CATO with another interesting post on education...

Obama, in His Own Words...

Remember this when you vote in November...

Mars, Up Close and Personal...

“What is that?”, you may well be asking...

It's a rock on Mars, seen up close and personal, much as if you were there in person with a magnifying glass.

It's from Curiosity, using it's “hand imager” camera that's specifically designed to work just like a field geologist with his magnifying glass.

Feels like I could reach out and rub that rock's surface...

Squandering Public Education Money...

CATO has a great article analyzing the return on our investment in public education.  Conclusion: Zip.  Nada.  Doo-dah.  All that money is being thrown at public education with no discernable increase in student performance.  Wasted.

Unless you're a teacher's union member, of course.  Or a politician benefiting from the union donations.

Every once in a while, you really need a revolution to clear out the rot.  Public education in the U.S. is long, long overdue for a such revolution.  Anyone up for a little “Education Spring”?

Deep Thoughts...

...from my mom:

I was engaged in some deep thinking on a range of topics.

At one point I considered this age old question: Which is more painful? giving birth, or getting kicked in the nuts?

Women say that giving birth is more painful. Way more painful.

After more deep thinking, I came up with a different answer. I think that getting kicked in the nuts is more painful than giving birth. Here is why I think that.

A year or so after giving birth, a woman might say, "It might be nice to have another child."

But you never hear a guy say, "It might be nice to have another kick in the nuts."

I can't fault her logic :-)

The Libya Deception...

I'd like to think that this sort of behavior by the American leadership would be absolutely unthinkable.  Unfortunately, here in the real world, it is all too common.

I'm as outraged as anyone by the Obama administration's behavior with respect to the attack on the embassy in Benghazi – but I won't pretend that this is a particularly egregious example of the abuse of power by a President of either party.  It's more like a continuation of a pattern of such behavior that roughly keeps pace with the size, wealth, and power of the Federal government.

In other words, the more that's at stake for those with their greasy paws on the levers of power, the more it gets abused.  Naturally ... as that is how a significant subset of our fellow humans behave when we let them get away with it.  Listen, and weep for your country.  And remember all this when you vote in November...

Geek Stuff: Bit-Twiddling Hacks...

A nice collection from Sean Anderson, with C code examples...