A Crashing Bore...

Peggy nails it.

It Comes To This...

If you're a libertarian or conservative in California, you can't help but feel like you're living in a loony bin.  Sometimes reality here is stranger than fiction, as in this case: there's a Democrat running for the Senate who in many ways seems more attractive (to libertarians and conservatives) than any of the Republicans in the race.  This state's political class is so dominated by brain-dead “progressive” Democrats that this seems exceedingly unlikely. 

Yet it is so.

$200 Million per Arrest...

Seems a little expensive, doesn't it?  This is what happens when political theater becomes more important than, like, actual results.

We should be spending this money on intelligence and emergency response services, not easily-sidestepped “security” measures...

A Chaparral Morning...

Last night I enjoyed a nice glass of wine – a Spanish wine, new to me, that was a gift from a friend and colleague.  It was delicious, and put me right to sleep.  I slept well, but woke early, and I was out walking our dogs by 3 am.  The moon was still well below the horizon, and the sky was very dark.  As my eyes accommodated, familiar constellations popped into view.  In a few minutes, the Milky Way swam into view – at first a faint swath from north overhead to the east, but soon a bright feature full of texture and even color.  The clear high-desert sky was on full display.

At the same time, the morning's cool air sinking down the hillside above me wafted the chaparral scents – sage, ceanothus, mountain mahogany, and others.  It was very quiet; still too early for the birds to be awake, and no coyotes were howling.  Our dogs (well, the three field spaniels, anyway) smelled something else.  They were completely focused on analyzing the path that this unknown animal had taken through our yard.  Prime possibilities: bobcat, coyote, mountain lion, or fox.  I'm sure they knew which it was, but I didn't.  Meanwhile our one border collie completely ignored all the smells and sights, and simply did his two favorite things: ran around the yard at near-supersonic speeds, and brought me pine cones and sticks to throw for him to retrieve.  The behavior of the field spaniels and the border collie is so different that one could be excused for thinking they were separate species.

I love these chaparral mornings...

This Is A Problem...

When the government steals takes as taxes such a high percentage of your income, how do you encourage the kids to follow the classic American path – work hard and prosper?  Via Amy L.

Last night as I drove home, I got to pondering the high taxes that loom in our near future.  As many others have noted, the younger a person is, the more they are screwed by these impending taxes.  I probably won't be in the workforce for more than another ten years or so – but someone who is (say) 30 years old today will likely be in the workforce for forty years, and maybe more.  For four decades they will watch 40% or more (I'm guessing) of their paycheck disappear into the maw of Big Government – and reappear in the hands of those content to mooch from the public teat.

Doesn't sound like a great motivator to me.  Here's an easy prediction: the more we move in that direction, the more of our young citizens will decide that mooching is better than the alternative.

Are you pissed off yet?

Waxman Is Confused...

Heh!

In Defense of Capitalism...

Doctor Zero has a nice one...

Here's One Reason Why the Tea Parties Are Multiplying...

Nearly half (47%) of all American households pay zero income tax. 

If you're not one of them (as we most certainly are not!), think about what that means.  It means that you are paying for their government services.  And in many cases, it means that you are handing them a check, as most of these non-taxpayers actually get cash back from the government (the so-called “earned income credit”, which is really just welfare by another name).

Does this piss you off?  Join a tea party...

Introversion...

The longer I spend amongst my fellow workers who are extroverts (as so many are), the more I realize that the way they “process their world” is profoundly different than the way I do.  This piece touches on some of this in a way that resonates with me.  One tiny item that jumped out at me: I am very easily startled, to the point where it's a great source of amusement to others...

The Next Big Thing...

The company I get paid to play work for is doing very well...

And Bugs Are All That You Can See...

For the programmers amongst my readers (via Aleck L.):

Sonar Has Come a Long, Long Way...

The image at right, of a sunken Russian submarine, was made entirely with sonar data.  Thirty five years ago, when I was in the Navy, we'd be lucky if we could detect the submarine at all.  Now it looks like we could inspect their latest repairs!

Awesome Optical Illusion...

That is not a blue spiral, but rather concentric blue circles...

Why We're Skeptical of the IPCC...

Steve McIntyre does what he does best: analyzes temperature data and follows the ClimateGate email trail to expose in detail the games that were played.  With our money, too...

Tea Parties...

Of all people, the usually mindlessly progressive Juan Williams has a surprisingly level-headed piece on Tea Parties in the WSJ...

Flowers...

Poignant story of Olga Grushin's reactions to the news of the recent bombings in Russia.  She's living in America, but her parents live very near the site of the bombings...

Kinda Scary...

The video below shows a robot, a “copy” of a flesh-and-blood human.  While it's not a perfect replica, it's far better than the animatronic devices I saw in Disneyland as a kid...

Rocking and Rolling: Update...

We've not felt any aftershocks at our home, but as you can see from the map at right there have been a great many of them (all much smaller than the magnitude 7.2 initial quake).

Check back with the USGS site for updates...

Rocking and Rolling...

We just felt a strong earthquake – lots of sideways motion, subsonic rumbling, and of quite long duration (about 45 seconds at a guess).  The USGS initial automated report puts it at magnitude 6.9, about 20 miles south of the Mexican border.  That's roughly 60 or 70 miles from our house...

The report is preliminary and these often get revised.  USGS map at right and info below; click to enlarge...

A Movie I'd Watch...

I haven't watched a movie for months, but here's one I think I might enjoy.  When it comes out on DVD, I'm gonna get it: