First?

Gotta get that methane reference in there...

:-)

I mentioned in an earlier kit, that his wife had the upper hand in the divorce negotiations and demanded and got all future Nobel Prize winnings. You gotta admire that kind of faith in your cheating husband's earning potential.

Thanks for chemistry lesson, Shriek. Being a biologist, I forget such things related to the minutae of chemical reactions without referring to a book.

Everyone should get a copy of 50 Simple Things You Can Do To Save the Earth, ISBN 0-929634-06-03. It's one of the supplemental materials in the Env. Studies course I teach to the 11th and 12th graders. Like any of them REALLY gives a whit about the environmental costs of a Big Mac. It's good reading, especially when perched on the throne.

dr, try the newer bulbs, the newer fluorescent bulbs that equal a 100 watt incandescent are very close in light production and they are getting close to emitting light that doesn't make you look like the walking dead. There may be some issues with disposing them but given their life span (up to five years) there would be a reduction in the number of items a household would be throwing away.

Don't forget we cancelled the One Tonne challenge here which was a program to encourage householders to choose more environmentally friendly products.

Re: Cost of beef, since I don't believe it is practical to get the population to stop eating beef on mass, perhaps this solution to a by product of feed production will help. Corn cobs being used to increase the storage of gas in cars allowing for smaller tanks for natural gas/menthane.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20070220.wbriquette0220/BNStory/Science/home

The whole second half of the kit is just a giant underhand softball meatball pitch to trick us into expounding on "emissions from...the livestock sector." I'm not gonna swing at it. Joel is just pandering. Moove along, nothing but some flatulent ruminants here.

Hi all, I hope you don't mind me reboodling one of mo's posts from the earlier kit. This is too good for folks to miss.

Joel? Any commentary?

==

speaking of achenbro - lookey at this little "gem" i found

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acJrTUbbzss

Posted by: mo | February 21, 2007 10:50 AM

TBG, thanks, I even added it to the kit (though Moveable Type is acting weird). That's great stuff. Thanks much to Mo for digging it up.

About Oscar: As you know I haven't seen a movie since roughly the time of The Jazz Singer. I mean I kind of stopped going when they switched to Talkies. But please opine away on the 'scars. I'm thinking Letters From Iwo Jima will win best pic due to the ambition and sweep factor.

And ScienceTim, thanks for those great reports from the mountaintop!

aww shucks boss... just doin my job... you guys do the pointy stuff, i do the 'puter stuff...

aww shucks boss... just doin my job... you guys do the pointy stuff, i do the 'puter stuff...

dmd, its still a very different light when you try to read by the light of 1 lamp. It's seldom enough.

Australia changes it rules and definitions, and here in Canada we advertise. Look deeper into what money was spent and the one tonne challenge spent money only to advertise. I just don't see that advertising is the most effective way to change the climate. Its the difference between doing something and saying you are going to do something.

On the beef front, how much of the 26% of land worldwide would be usable for vegetative food production? Farmers I know, keep cattle where other things don't grow or where other things grow only with great cost. There is a lot of marginally arable land out there that can produce but only with a lot of fertilizer and adequate rain.

I'm thinking that maybe I should set aside some dollars for Isaacson's book--I was laughing at the lead subkect matter of today's Kit, more than you know, Joel.

mo, jewelry is hallmarked, almost always, with 925, meaning that the jewlelry meets the standard for sterling...92.5 percent silver. If it's a higher-end piece of silver or a designer piece, you will often, but not always, find the designer's hallmark--his or own personal stamp or design that says, "I made this piece of fine jewelry."

I really tend to look for these when I'm buying either authentic Navajo or Hopi or Native jewlery, or Italian pieces. As far as the tarnish and brown color, listen to the science types here. Also, if you happen to be particularly acidic (rather than alkaline, as I am), the high acid level in your skin will also discolor jewelry, as my hubby found out after buying a Navajo ring with a large turquoise stone.

Joel,perhaps you should grow your hair long and get a perm. Achenbro looks pretty good, Clairol-wise, in the clip from mo.

Here's a picture of Mayor Jon Allan of Helotes. He has less hair, is scrawnier (thinner these days), has more lines in his face and appears more pinched and drawn lately--or is it the Texas sun (but who am I to talk?), but we still have too much in common--on serious topics--for me not to propose an innocent cup of coffee at Helotes Starbucks. (He'll probably kill me for this...or die of embarrassment first...)

http://www.sfbr.org/pages/virology_cv.php?u=34

Unfortunately, I can't make next Monday's town hall forum in Helotes about the fire because Wachovia is having a small work group celebration at a nearby Outback Steakhouse as a celebration for a team effort. I wasn't part of the team effort, and I can't imagine anyone from World Savings (now Wachovia, as reported in our local paper) saying anything as interesting as what might be said about the fire, but as a spouse I am committed to go. It's another one of those I-really don't-want-to see-the-latest-James-Bond flick evenings.

lindaloo - achenbro isn't the brunette - he's the blonde on the right...

Meant to say that the other 7.5 percent of sterling silver jewelry is other metals...

The sterling standard is so ingrained and so commonplace and widespread that it is extremely rare to find sterling jewelry made with a ratio of other than 925...

dr, just saw this article on Ontario possibly considering a similar ban to Australia, note the comment at the end about Australia building Coal plants!

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20070221/ontario_lightbulbs_070221/20070221?hub=Canada&s_name=

As a sometime poster-usual lurker, would someone tell me which one is the Achenbro? I've got nothing on the whole beef/environment issue, but as far as the left vs. the middle goes, my blood pressure skyrockets. I guess I should just admit that I'm a yellow dog Democrat, but geez- these liberal blogs and Markos and the whole group of them drive me crazy. Have they learned nothing from the excesses of the crazy right wingnuts? I think a vast majority of the country values pragmatism, compromise and just plain common sense. Why would they insist on absolute fidelity to the hard left line? Do the Democrats have to eat their own? Sigh. It's too early for wine, so I guess I'll have to go buy a People magazine or something now.

Sorry, it took me a few minutes to type my 11:59 and didn't see Mo's 11:53...still not building up boodle cred. Sigh.

Kim, on the Rox Diamond home page he's the one on the far right.

http://www.roxdiamond.com/

The Stalinist tendencies of some folks on the Left -- first, let's kill all our friends who don't agree with us precisely -- is an interesting phenomenon that, as far as I know, doesn't have an exact equivalent on the Right. But I could be wrong. Worth checking out. I heard a story from Arlen Specter about being booed by hard-right conservatives when he ran for president. And Hugh Hewitt has been organizing a kind of campaign to block contributions to Republicans who oppose the surge.

Mo, thanks for pointing Achenbro out, I wasn't sure myself.

Just was reading a story in the local paper's business section about a snack company. The price of flour is up, it says, because farmers are planting corn for ethanol instead of wheat. For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction...

You there, mo? You asked about health hazards from your exposure to chlorine. With only 10 minutes exposure at low levels, there probably aren't any that you haven't already experienced (or not experienced), such as some eye irritation, and maybe some respiratory irritation. If you haven't had any of that, you're OK, and nothing more to worry about. But longer or higher could have gotten potentially serious.

As you may or may not know, chlorine was the first poison gas used in WWI, so it is potentially some "bad s---" as scientists like to say. And from the Internet at http://www.health.state.ny.us/nysdoh/bt/chemical_terrorism/chlorine_tech.htm

"What are the immediate health effects of chlorine exposure?

"The health effects resulting from most chlorine exposures begin within seconds to minutes. The severity of the signs and symptoms caused by chlorine will vary according to amount, route and duration of exposure.

"Inhalation: Most chlorine exposures occur via inhalation. Low level exposures to chlorine in air will cause eye/skin/airway irritation, sore throat and cough. Chlorine's odor provides adequate early warning of its presence, but also causes olfactory fatigue or adaptation, reducing awareness of one's prolonged exposure at low concentrations. At higher levels of exposure, signs and symptoms may progress to chest tightness, wheezing, dyspnea, and bronchospasm. Severe exposures may result in noncardiogenic pulmonary edema, which may be delayed for several hours.

"Ingestion: Since chlorine is a gas at room temperature, it is unlikely that a severe exposure will result from ingestion. However, ingestion of chlorine dissolved in water (e.g., sodium hypochlorite or household bleach) will cause corrosive tissue damage of the gastrointestinal tract.

"Eye/Dermal Contact: Low level exposures to chlorine gas will cause eye and skin irritation. Higher exposures may result in severe chemical burns or ulcerations. Exposure to compressed liquid chlorine may cause frostbite of the skin and eyes.

"Children may receive a larger dose than adults exposed to environments with the same levels of chlorine gas because they have greater lung surface area-to-body weight ratios and increased minute volumes-to-weight ratios. In addition, they may be exposed to higher levels than adults in the same location because of their shorter height and the higher levels of chlorine gas that may be found nearer the ground.

I've harped on this before, but a bajillion acres of cornfields is in no way a natural state. For the last 15 million years the natural state of about 40-60% of North America has been...pastureland.

Sixty million burping bison.

Joel, I would say that James Dobson and others have those same Stalinist tendencies. Even Dick Armey, not a Mr. Warm and Fuzzy, says Dobson is a "big bully." If I have to choose between hanging James Dobson and Grover Norquist or Markos and Michael Moore, I'm picking Markos and Michael every time...but for crying out loud, do the Democrats want to be a majority party or not?

No, No, No...I meant hanging out with..hanging out with, not hanging. Ok, I'm returning to lurking for now.

Was I supposed to start that post with SCC?

The only thing missing from Achenbro's group photos is a brick wall. In fact, I think it's a law in certain states that bands must have at least one photo taken in front of a crumbling/graffiti-covered brick wall. Then there's the railroad track backdrops, but let's not go there.

My own promotional photos never included me (for good reason) -- usually just pictures of guitars. There was that time though where I scanned my head and got crazy with Photoshop filters to make me look like I had electrical charges coursing over my face. Cheap fun with low-powered lasers.

Yes, Kim, SCC would have worked well there, but no worries. We all have lifetime memeberships.

:-)

And this should be interesting...

http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/TV/02/21/dancing.mills.ap/index.html

We see now that this fly-away hair thing is a genetic condition.

Leftist bloggers turning cannibals on centrist Democrat Rep&Sens isn't only a Left phenomenon. Last weekend an experienced hunting&shooting writer at Outdoor Life (Jim Zumbo) expressed his dislikes of "black guns" and other military style weapons as hunting implements in his blog. Oh boy! He got about 4000 extremely negative comments from the NRA crowd. His groveling excuses got about 3000 very negative comments. The magazine suspended his blogs and his column. The NRA is clamoring for his head. His various sponsors published press releases ditching him and distancing themselves as fast and as far as possible. The guy is a strong supporter of the right to bear arms, of course.
The whole mess was only cause by his frank opinion, shared by most old timer, that these black guns and other military weapons are just plain cr@p for hunting. So much for the first amendment when the gun nuts think their 2cd amendment rights are in question apparently.
Remember the Arkin debacle two week as well. The blogosphere is clearly not the place for enlighten debate.

BTW I recommend the last J. Fford book, The Fourth Bear. It is the best yet in the Jack Spat series imoo. Part of the story is a lively debate about the right to arm bears.

In re Einstein's pick-up line...I've heard worse. Shoot, I've have worse work. It's been my experience that really intelligent men seem to be slightly off-kilter in the interpersonal skills department (ScienceTim of course being the exception to this rule), and therefore find their feeble attempts at least a little endearing.

It's been many years, but my recollection is that the native vegetation of about 1/2 of N. America was forest or woodland/savanna (I guess that would be pasture), the level parts of which have largely been cleared for agriculture. That would be the Cf and D* zones on this map.

http://fp.arizona.edu/kkh/climate/trewartha_maps.htm

It's been many years, but my recollection is that the native vegetation of about 1/2 of N. America was forest or woodland/savanna (I guess that would be pasture), the level parts of which have largely been cleared for agriculture. That would be the Cf and D* zones on this map.

http://fp.arizona.edu/kkh/climate/trewartha_maps.htm

I've stood in Swift Run Gap and atop Hawksbill Mt. in the Shanandoah Natioal Park many times and wondered how the Valley looked three hundred years ago. Probably not much different, excepting more tree cover.

Prairie, LTL...of the long grass and short grass variety. Many of the grass and sedge seeds would have to pass through the digestive system of an animal, such as bison, or be exposed to fire, or sometimes both, before they would germinate. Prairie restoration projects accomplish this scarification with volunteers that rub the seeds in sandpaper before dispersing them.

The maps are good within limits. There is a lot more going on with what will grow womewhere than just what the climate is. What kind of soils are in a particular area means as much to what will grow in a general area as climate.

http://www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/soils/soils.nsf/soilgroupmap?readform

There is a very broad range of soils here in Alberta and if you look at the pictures in some of the soil groups you will see samples of the different soils.
Some soils hold moisture, some expand under the addition of water some collapse (subsoils is what keeps me working!), some drain mositure away like no body's business.

I'm with you, Kim. The "Stalinists" (love Joel's word for them) scare the crap out of me, too, and they aren't doing anyone any good, including themselves. But Stalin himself was right: the first thing you do after the revolution is shoot all the revolutionaries, because they behave exactly like Kos, Move On et al. are doing. (Er, not that I'm advocating shooting anybody. Well, wait a minute, let me think about that for a second...).

But yes, this has always been the problem with zealots, of whatever stripe: Right, Left, Enviro, NRA, Fundamentalists, Wahabbis, PETA, Goldwater's infamous "Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice" [uh, yes, it is, Barry], even Seinfeld's Soup Nazi.

And yes, the blogosphere is only making things worse, not better. I've been in the field of "communications" one way or another my entire career, and by and large I think I'm against it (communication, that is). We have way too much of it, and the quality is deteriorating in quantum leaps. Give me the good old days of the "strong silent type." Emphasis on silent.

Einstein pickup lines:

"Baby, you *do* know mass increases with velocity, don't you? Whaddaya say I demonstrate this?"

"You're the best dancer in this club. Have you ever read my paper about the Electodynamics of Moving Bodies? You're *seriously* distorting local spacetime, you sweet thang."

"I'd really like to gravitate into your spacetime frame of reference, and experience some serious time dialation with *you*, baby!"

bc

SD, that's interesting. McCain and Guiliani also seem to get a rough ride for their moderate positions on some issues.

Einstein's relationships are a depressing case study for professional women. IIRC, his wife was a fellow student and colleague. As noted, she gets dumped for the non-scientist cousin (probably with a light-distorting figure).

On forests, at least up here, many treed areas were naturally more open but are less so now primarily due to fire control (I'm thinking of Jasper National Park specifically).

Mr. Einstein? I'm counsel for Ms. Einstein. This is my client's Statement of Claim and Petition for Divorce.

I would like to warn you that you may experience a relative decrease in the passage of time as you read the damages portion.

Since I heard about Einstein and Mileva's first child, Lieserl, who was born the year before the two married and given to a farm family to raise, I can't quite muster much awe and respect for Einstein. Apparently she died in toddlerhood. Even when they married she was not retrieved to be raised by them, for fear of the stigma of her existence. Not a good foundation for a marriage.

It appears that some biographers still do not acknowledge that this child existed.

The hard right and hard left share one particular trait: The Quest for Moral Superiority. Their world eschews tawdry concepts like prudence, practicality, thoughtfulness, or an understanding of mutual goals. In their world, doctrinal purity is more important than useful results. We've learned from the Bush Regime how effective the hard right perspective is when applied to actual governance. You'd think the hard left would have learned from the blunders of the right. However, they're too insulted, too angry, too motivated to demonstrate their Ultimate Moral Superiority to care. As a result, they're becoming the mirror reflection of the hard right. Pitiful.

Kurtz has a good column on the "utter sameness and existential lousiness of commercial radio" versus the satellite stations, at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/linkset/2005/04/11/LI2005041100587.html

Interesting research on the price of hamburger. I recommend we eat more red meat, since the faster we clear the shelf stock, the sooner those still on the hoof can move a link or two along the food chain, thereby relieving the environmental stress. Tip: Order rare, since the shorter cooking time will further speed up the process.

Interesting research on the price of hamburger. I recommend we eat more red meat, since the faster we clear the shelf stock, the sooner those still on the hoof can move a link or two along the food chain, thereby relieving the environmental stress. Tip: Order rare, since the shorter cooking time will further speed up the process.

Interesting research on the price of hamburger. I recommend we eat more red meat, since the faster we clear the shelf stock, the sooner those still on the hoof can move a link or two along the food chain, thereby relieving the environmental stress. Tip: Order rare, since the shorter cooking time will further speed up the process.

As far as Einstein's daughter, look no further than this book. Part of the review:

Her thesis is intriguing but inconclusive, based on only a few witnesses' recollections. Writing elegantly, Zackheim does establish that Lieserl lived with Mileva's parents, and her remarkable sleuthing turns up new details of Einstein's personal life. In her withering, one-sided portrait, the great physicist, pacifist, freethinker and internationalist was a dictatorial, insulting, selfish, unfaithful spouse, a curmudgeon with a misanthropic streak.

Einstein, by this account, emotionally abused his ailing first wife and virtually abandoned their two young sons after he divorced Mileva in 1919 so that he could marry his cousin Elsa five months later. Zackheim paints Einstein's second marriage as one of mere convenience, portraying him as a cold, distant mate, "a middle-aged Lothario" who "tended to have a few romances going at once." She also speculates, without evidence, that Einstein may have infected Mileva with syphi1is, and that she could have passed it to Lieserl in utero, increasing the risk of mental retardation.

http://www.amazon.com/Einsteins-Daughter-Lieserl-Michele-Zackheim/dp/1573228362/sr=8-1/qid=1172085901/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/104-6294359-4192708?ie=UTF8&s=books

Joel, I've been thinking. Isaacson has already, undoubtedly, put his book to bed. And you, obviously, have an advance copy. To read? To read and review? Curiosity forces me to ask if there's any mention of Einstein's visit to Tuxedo Park (I was pondering this driving around doing errands this morning).

I'm with Wheezy on Einstien. The man was not nearly so nice as his theory.

Its important to keep in mind how very different late Victorian views on women, children and property was, and how very different the world viewed a woman's capabilities. Keeping that in mind, Albert still is a piggy.

As far as Einstein's daughter, look no further than this book. Part of the review:

Her thesis is intriguing but inconclusive, based on only a few witnesses' recollections. Writing elegantly, Zackheim does establish that Lieserl lived with Mileva's parents, and her remarkable sleuthing turns up new details of Einstein's personal life. In her withering, one-sided portrait, the great physicist, pacifist, freethinker and internationalist was a dictatorial, insulting, selfish, unfaithful spouse, a curmudgeon with a misanthropic streak.

Einstein, by this account, emotionally abused his ailing first wife and virtually abandoned their two young sons after he divorced Mileva in 1919 so that he could marry his cousin Elsa five months later. Zackheim paints Einstein's second marriage as one of mere convenience, portraying him as a cold, distant mate, "a middle-aged Lothario" who "tended to have a few romances going at once." She also speculates, without evidence, that Einstein may have infected Mileva with syphi1is, and that she could have passed it to Lieserl in utero, increasing the risk of mental retardation.

http://www.amazon.com/Einsteins-Daughter-Lieserl-Michele-Zackheim/dp/1573228362/sr=8-1/qid=1172085901/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/104-6294359-4192708?ie=UTF8&s=books

Joel, I've been thinking. Isaacson has already, undoubtedly, put his book to bed. And you, obviously, have an advance copy. To read? To read and review? Curiosity forces me to ask if there's any mention of Einstein's visit to Tuxedo Park (I was pondering this driving around doing errands this morning).

Howdy all. I'm still catching up on days of Boodle but thought I'd start fresh.

In 2002 Oklahoma elected a centrist Democrat governor after two terms of otherwise. I happen to like him. He really practices bipartisanship in order to get what he wants (clever) and move the state along. His first term, he did everything he said he'd do and took us from a deep deficit to surplus. He was just reelected with something like 60% of the vote. However, almost immediately the die-hard left began to complain about him. He wasn't liberal enough, wasn't pushing the Legislature for laws that had no chance of passing, wasn't helping eough people fast enough. Now, this was at a time when the state Legislature is going Republican. Centrist and even conservative Democrats are popular. Nobody significantly to the left of the governor has any chance of being elected to a serious statewide office. So, I've been asking for the last four years, what do these folks want anyway? I think some people would rather have the party lose and lick their wounds in doctrinal purity than win and actually be in a position to govern. Bah.

Yes I have an advance copy. Bound galley I guess you'd call it. Haven't seen Tuxedo park section.

Bulletin: Moveable Type has confessed to having a "bad switch" that is impeding everything and slowing down our posts, etc., and they say it won't be fixed until tomorrow. But look for the pace of things to pick up roundabout then. Thank you for your attention.

Wait a second. We were paying attention?

I did not get that memo, and I think I am going to have to take that up with the shop steward.

(Raises hand, and waits pateintly for Mudge.)

While taking a quick look at womens suffrage while reading about victorian views, I came across that New Jersey originally placed no exclusions to vote so long as a person owned property. The errant original was rescinded or corrected in 1807. You likely knew that but I find that interesting.

Yes, dr, you have your hand up? You may leave the room.

What was that Mudge? I got distracted there for a moment.

Now what was it...?

'mudge - don't know if you saw yesterday but i was up in your stomping ground philly this weekend - had a great time! south street was fun and yes, i had a cheesesteak - not sure what all the fuss is about...

Still catching up but I just saw Dylan is better, out of the hospital, and on his way to Disney World. Congratulations, Mudge, and thanks for the update. The phone call from Minnie is great. I'm not much fond of the Rat but they can take care of their customers when they need to.

dr writes: New Jersey originally placed no exclusions to vote so long as a person owned property. The errant original was rescinded or corrected in 1807.

I didn't know that. It's weird - did women actually vote? Course that was, what - 30 or 35 years before it was rescinded?

I obviously have no clue what the mores of Einstein and Mileva's time were really like, and the pressures they were under. I wouldn't give him the benefit of calling them Victorian times, though - late Edwardian to modern, if anything. Weren't some British royals themselves miscegenating with commoners at the time in question?

mo, was it a Jim's steak (4th and South Street)? Did it weigh about a pound and a half? Have cheese, fried onions (pizza sauce optional) and clog at least two major arteries within 10 minutes of consumption?

dr, I assumed you wanted to go to the bathroom. Don't forget your hall pass.

dr, did you note in the file if Women would allowed to own property in NJ? Property ownership in many cases transferred to the husband upon marriage.

Wait, when did Victoria die? I guess I was thinking post-WWI, but it wasn't, was it? Sorry.

I suspect the "hard lefties" want massive income distribution for two reasons, based on jealousy: to stick it to the man, and so they can get some of it. Which imply some moral and intellectual three-card monte. I think this is different from motives such as "leveling the field" and affirmative action, and a general belief in progressive income taxes.

Politics. I remember a long TV special covering the Perot convention. One woman supporting Perot mentioned he would bring sanity to the War on Drugs. She believed in executing drug dealers. Later, a man supporting Perot mentioned he would bring sanity to the War on Drugs. He favored immediate legalization.

Joel, that's one of the prices WaPo.com pays for outsourcing (I'm assuming here that WaPo.com is using one of their Hosted Solutions).

A bad switch (most likely a single port or two) somewhere in *their* network, and you have disgruntled bloggers and hordes of angry commenters.

Caution! Tragically Mixed Metaphor and Muddled Thinking Approaching: Problems take time to solve when you have to peel an onion at somebody else's house.

bc

Wheezy, Victoria died in 1901, IIRC.

I took part in an interesting discussion on the topic of why young people feel helpless to initiate political change. Generally, the transescents I spoke with percieved protestors, especially when filmed in violent, destructive clashes (seen nearly exclusively on the news), as way over the top. They don't see that as a productive practice,a nd in many cases, their conclusions are valid. The point was made that the media is driven to get a reaction out of their audience. Thus, stories with emotional content are are covered, as a hook, and political news/hard news is covered rather superficially. This generation (nee 1991 ish is used to video news, not reading. They don't really have a political hat rack, lest they want to be labelled a tree hugger, pacifist, hawk, freak, etc. I get the impression that maintaining the status quo is ok with them. Everything else is too close to the fringe. I don't thnk many of them see mass protest, a la the civil rights, womens' rights and antiwar movements as a viable part of our democracy. Interesting.

>I remember a long TV special covering the Perot convention.

IRC, Perot advocated simply searching every house in the US (i.e. your underwear drawer) in order to win the War On Drugs.

He also required all his employess (at EDS I believe) to shave off any facial hair and wear only white shirts.

SCC: IIRC, employees

And of course no more drugs would ever enter the country once the 30 million or so pot smokers were all put behind bars. I don't believe he ever detailed how he would imprison such a large percentage of the population.

'mudge - nah, the line at jim's was around the corner... we went to an irish bar that touted 20ish beers on tap and "the best cheesesteak on south street"... it was WAY too big but it has shrooms, provolone, onions, lettuce and tomato... i had half for lunch and the other half for dinner! (did i say it was WAY too big?)

i worked for perot systems for a short time in LA... they made me shave my facial hair, but i didn't have to wear a white shirt... (LOL)

bc, I've always been a fan of "let's burn that bridge when we get to it."

Not only was facial hair not allowed at EDS (even post-Ross), women were not allowed to wear slacks until 1996. And then only in pantsuits. No "separates" allowed. Pictures of the women in the Plano office featured big blond Texas hair and bow blouses (long after those &*%# things went out of fashion).

Ross Perot was less sane than Dana Carvey.

Dear heavens! Looks like New Jersey was not the only one. I had a link before that I cannot find now, that said that some women did vote in New Jersey early elections. The early state constitution of New Jersey only staed 'people', and did not specify if people included women, and African Americans. It would be interesting to to find out if women could legally own property at that time. Any early American history types out there, besides Joel who is of course the in-house GW expert.

Other highlights I did find:

1776 Abigail Adams writes to her husband, John Adams, asking him to "remember the ladies" in the new code of laws. Adams replies the men will fight the "despotism of the petticoat."

1777 Women lose the right to vote in New York.

1780 Women lose the right to vote in Massachusetts.

1784 Women lose the right to vote in New Hampshire.

1787 US Constitutional Convention places voting qualifications in the hands of the states. Women in all states except New Jersey lose the right to vote.

1792 Mary Wollstonecraft publishes Vindication of the Rights of Women in England.

1807 Women lose the right to vote in New Jersey, the last state to revoke the right.

In Canada the postion of person under the law was not fully stated till October of 1929.

Regarding Victorian, I debated calling it Edwardian, but the mores of the time were definitely the pall cast by Victoria's reign. You did not acknowledge of illegitimate children, you did not speak of the dead. Actually there have been a lot sillier 'do nots' through time than Victorian.

mo, mo, mo. *shakes head sadly*

An IRISH cheesesteak? An IRISH chesesteak in PHILLY? An IRISH cheesesteak with LETTUCE and TOMATO? mo, that restaurant violated so many Philly city ordnances I'm surprised to cops don't raid the place. A cheesesteak with lettuce and tomato may be acceptable in some untutored portions of Montana, say, and perhaps parts of southern California. But in Philly? Ahem.

An right off the bat, let us examine the very CONCEPT of an Irish cheesesteak. How about some analogies: A Norwegian chimichanga. Jewish barbecued ribs or Hebrew Nation brand lobster Newburgh. Japanese spaghetti and meatballs. Italian moo goo gai pan. Panamanian lutefisk (OK, anybody's lutefisk, but you get the idea). Sushi from Secaucus, New Jersey. Thai curried brats 'n' kraut.

I'm sorry Jim's was packed (I shall speak to Jim about this myself), but it was packed for good reason. And for an Irish pub (on South Street, of all places, EFFING SOUTH STREET!!!! In the Heart of Sowt Fully!!!) to advertise itself that way, is simply to invite a firebombing. I give the place maybe another 24 hours, tops.

I blame Angelo Bruno for this. When Don Angelo was alive, this sort of thing woulda never happened. That new crowd--pffft. A buncha amateurs.

I'm sorry Mudge, I wasn't paying attention.

Thanks, dr. Didn't mean to make you work so hard!

Laughing at your 4:01, Jumper.

'Mudge, where is Jim's? I'm going to Philly in a few weeks, must give it a try. As far as the Oscars are concerned, I saw Ryan Gosling in 'Half Nelson' this past weekend. He was really something else, great performance. But it's not a movie to see if you are looking for a warm fuzzy.

um... maybe it wasn't an irish bar? i don't remember... but i remember that i did go to a diner in a cemetary in roxborough...

Mudge, Mudge, easy big fella.
Everybody has their area of expertise. But don't get upset because they just don't know.

Some people wouldn't be caught dead reading the Washington Times, watching Fox News or shopping at WalMart. Others just don't know, don't care, and are perfectly happy that way.

LiT, you're dating yourself, but obviously you know something about computer networks. That was a very subtle joke at the OSI Layer 2 level, well done.

For the non-IT/network folks, nobody's called a Layer 2 multi-segment network device a "bridge" in at least a decade. Today they're called "switches".

bc

At least it was interesting work. My paid work today is almost as good as the days when I have to reconcile bank accounts.

I am doing T4's, WCB, and t5018's.

My college roommate interviewed with EDS in the mid-80s while it was still Perot controlled. His impression was that it was run as a combination of the worst components of the US Marine Corps/IBM circa 1956/pre-UMW company town.

He was expected to sign a promissory note pledging to repay the cost of training if he quit within two years. Moving expenses were also covered by forgivable promissory notes and they relocated employees about every two years. Since the dress code and grooming policy were so strict, he reached the conclusion that a lightly closeted gay man wouldn't fit in with their corporate culture.

OTOH, my wife had a fellow student get hired by them and he got relocated to Detroit and loved it. He just may not have known better.

I was only gone for a couple of days, but I missed y'all. The Boy & I went Saturday to the Dallas Fort Worth Metroplex (curse it, my precious) to visit extended family. Alas, the Boy started coming down with something Sunday, before the fencing tournament. Bad cough, slight fever, lethargy (officially diagnosed Monday as "the crud"). I was very proud of him, though, because he tried hard and tied for third. There would have been no tie had he been feeling better. They'd fence to a point or stop, the ref would call halt, the Boy would cough, they'd start again. He was entered in Youth 10, which is technically his age group (he is after all ten) but got bumped up to Youth 12. This became clear to us when we saw he was paired with the 13-year-olds who'd just competed in Youth 14. He did some good hard fencing, then completely crashed for the long ride home. I spent most of this week working from home and taking care of him, and just never got the chance to Boodle. He did a half-day this morning then rested this afternoon, so he can have a normal day all day tomorrow. Me too.

dr, re your 4:32 so sorry to hear that, it is that time of year isn't it.

dr you tweaked me to look up the timelines up here for women and I got the history of voting rights - quite shameful in many respects when you look backward.

http://www.chrc-ccdp.ca/en/browseSubjects/votingRights.asp

Kim, Jim's has four locations: 400 South Street (4th and South St.) in Sowt Fully, about six blocks south of Market St. and Independence Hall.

The second location is in "the Great Northeast," 2311 Cottman Avenue. The third is out in West Fully, at 431 N. 62nd St. The fourth is also out west, at 469 Baltimore Pike.

You can Google Jim's Steaks and get lots of reviews.

But you don't have to confine yourself to Jim's; Pat's and Geno's both fight over who is generally thought to be No. 1 and No. 2 (Jim's is generally ranked third).

Pat's is Pat's King of Steaks, 1237 East Passyunk Ave. (where 9th St. crosses Wharton and Passyunk Aves.) http://www.patskingofsteaks.com/

Right down the street from Pat's is Geno's, at 1219 S 9th St. http://www.genosteaks.com/home1.html

If you aren't in deep south Philly, I don't think I'd drive there, unless you were of the mind to make a religious pilgrimage to one of them.

If you are in or near Willow Grove, I'd recommend Luigi's in the Willow Grove Mall (top floor food court).

But here's the definitive list:

www[dot]bestcheesesteaks[dot]com/cheesesteaks/pa[dot]htm

So... wheh ya goin' n'Fully? Dahntahn? Nah Boybs? Churry Hill 'cross da rivuh? Yain't goin' donnashore, is ya?

Evilstein also opposed quantum theory. He should be banned from textbooks, or the textbooks should include a statement that his concepts were only theories, and there are other possible explanations for natural phenomena. How could such a morally irresponsible person possibly be right?

The Church of What's Happpenin' Now is considering establishing an anti-Evilstein blog; contributions will be welcomed, and tax-deductible.

dmd, I must admit that second last item incenses me, as a westerner.

I'm given the right to vote, but the right to equal representation in any form.

We have the cheesesteak discussion about twice a year around here. In the yellojkt household, a trip to Philly is a visit to Tony Luke's on Oregon.

Roast Pork Italian with rabe.

OK, wait a minute. Hillary Clinton wants Barak Obama to give money back to the donor who critized HER? Isn't she currently Obama's opponent?

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2007/02/clinton_obama_and_geffen.html

*I'm so confused*

SCC sheesh
That should be NOT the right to equal representation.

I can see that would be upsetting dr, I do believe it is referencing provincial election boundaries. (i.e. riding size variations/populations variations of ridings.

It brings up an interesting and what will be hotly debated issues as populations shift and the need to reflect those changes in the parliamentary makeup - thinking more Commons than Senate as the Senate really has no practical impact.

I was so outraged over the higher up items on minorities never saw the item you mentioned.

I have spent too much time in the last two weeks reading unnecessarily wordy documents. They have poor reasoning as well, but I suppose nothing can be done about that. If I were Queen, or Supreme Ruler, I would decree that all persons filing papers with a court should use fewer words. I'll be more specific. Henceforth, there shall be no adverbs or article adjectives. Perhaps we shall also abolish prepositional phrases.

To me, equal representation means an equal number of voters (registered voters, in US) per district. But it's implemented as equal population, whether or not the people are 18 YO, or have registered, or are citizens. One anomaly that results is over-representation for some towns that host prisons.

Ivansmom, maybe it would help if every attorney had to swear and affirm for every order, judgment and decree that repetition, redundancy and reiteration would be banned, disallowed, and removed?

sorry, the 5:45 was me - name got eaten

Prolix. That's what I meant. These briefs are too dang prolix. I'm afraid allowing them to swear affirm etc will provide an excuse for more words - and many of these folks aren't even paid by the word! I think perhaps monetary sanctions per syllable. That way, if you're paid by the word, you still have to pay for the word.

Ivansmom I feel for you, but doesn't that go against the lawyer code to complain about legalese? :-)

dr had me curious about our electoral boundaries and the fairness of our system, when I was reading the explanations I came to appreciate what Ivansmom must have gone through.

dr, here is the breakdown by population based on the 2001 census, note the special clauses - this allows Sask more representation than its population alone would allow as it does for several other provinces - does this make you feel any better? The full explanation and history is on the previous pages to this link.

http://www.elections.ca/scripts/fedrep/federal_e/RED/appendices_e.htm

You're right by diggity dmd. I may have known that, but its easier to whine. Its that strong western bias I have that colours my thinking, the old Alberta doesn't need an opposition, they have the feds thing.

dmd, did you see Rick Mercer's Report this week. They do a really funny Snow in Toronto bit.

Ivansmom, up here we passed a law called clear language. I don't think it dealt with limiting wordiness. I am pretty sure it made nothing clearer though, it just took out the whereats, and heretofore's.

And then Ivansmom as a mother of 3 boys, please forgive me, but, YOU GAVE YOUR SON A SWORD? Ok, its a foil, I know, but are you sure this is a good thing?

Seriously though, you are rightly proud. Tell him congratulations on the great showing.

That's an amazing Fix item, TBG. What is with this new fetish of insisting that others "disavow" statements of their supporters? When did "disavowing" becoming something politicians were supposed to do routinely? I can barely figure out how to express the concept.

I hereby disavow my comment and the comments of anyone who agrees with me.

The problem of prolixity is that lawyers are conservative (read: chicken). The reason why they are conservative is that they don't trust judges when it comes to interpreting what is called "plain language". Your choices are a ridiculously long document that basically says "by accepting this you give up the right to sue for more" that has been successfully upheld on several occasions, or having your client on the receiving end of a judgment such as this:

"The Very Big Company of America demanded that Mr. Schmoe sign a document that says 'by accepting this you give up the right to sue for more'. As there is no mention of whether this purported agreement applies if new facts come to the attention of Mr. Schmoe, I find that the agreement is ambiguous on this point and consequently the agreement must be interpreted as not contemplating a situation such as this. The Defendant's motion to dismiss Mr. Schmoe's action is dismissed."

TGB!!!!

I liked the video.

All I can say is that Joel needs to grow his hair... and figure out how he can do some hair tossing during the blog.

Yes saw it toda dr and thought of you and the other Canucks on the blog - sadly it is so true - I can whine too we got way more snow than Toronto and no one cared!!

For those in the US here is the clip - it is completely designed to show how the rest of Canada views Toronto - the depictions of Torontonians is not necessarily that far from the truth.

Still laughing at the comment about giving the boy a sword.

By the way Ivansmom you must be very proud of the boy.

http://www.cbc.ca/mercerreport/video_player.html?snow

If that doesn't work try this and choose the clip marked Snow in Toronto.

http://www.cbc.ca/mercerreport/

Oh, something from YouTube for everyone with kids. But don"t let them see it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2bcPIXl8kc

DO I have my papers? yes, that was me with the youtube post. sorry.

I am really ashamed, deeply honestly ashamed, to say that when I noted the flyaway-ish-ness of the Achenbro's hair as well as knowledge of the JA's problem, I realized the solution to flyaway hair is to wear barrettes.

And that thought has had me giggling all day. Obviously government paperwork has driven me insane.

Join the club, dr...

They're coming to take me away
Ha ha, hee hee, ho ho

:-)

And from the Smithereens kit, a late breaking item,

"Okay, the tevatron is 2 pi kilometers in circumference or about 3.904190345 miles! Yeah I work at Fermilab!

Posted by: Paul Czarapata | February 20, 2007 12:02 PM "

dr, when the Boy was two Ivansdad came home with a stage broadsword (dull edge) to practice for "King Lear". It has been downhill from there. On the other hand, he's never had toy guns. I was indeed proud and will pass the Boodle congratulations along, thanks.

Fencing will never be as lucrative as being a left-handed pitcher, though; I guess I still have to save for retirement.

Ivansmom, he could always work on a Jean-Luc Picard impression when he gets older.

:-)

Oh, and anyone catch the show on the History Channel about the Star Trek auction at Christie's?? They got $500,000 for the 8-foot production model of the Enterprise "D!"

*L*

I originally intended that the boys would not have guns either, At least not the cowboy 6 shooter kind. I would have been fine with long guns because their dad is after all a hunter. I gave up when everything turned into a gun. The tails of even these build it toys became guns.

http://tinyurl.com/37lrew

Remember those little old fashioned teething rings shaped like a pretzel? Perfect steering wheel for a car. They could have been real competition for bc racing that imaginary car back and forth across that tiny house on the hot summer evenings clad only in diapers. And man could they shift those gears!

Like all little kids, they could turn nothing into everything and the world was their oyster.

It occurs to me that all the very best days were when we were too small to remember them.

Or for parents, dr, they were too small and we were too exhausted. The Boy, too, "created" guns from toast, etc., but we made him "destroy" them. He was pretty content with toy swords and light sabers.

>I hereby disavow my comment and the comments of anyone who agrees with me.

Joel, the only useful sentence with "disavow" in it is:

"As always, should you or any of your IM Force be caught or killed, the secretary will disavow any knowledge of your actions."

Ivansmom, I think the fencing is very cool. And if he can parlay it into a motion picture career it may be worth more than a left-handed pitcher. I'll bet Johnny Depp is doing pretty well these days.

And Scotty, I'm *not* surprised the Enterprise model went for half a mil. If you've ever watched the Barret-Jackson auctions you'll know there are a lot of people with too much money.

Ivansmom, has the Boy ever fenced against the Chevy Chase Fencing Club youth team? My father is their coach (or at least, he is *a* coach).

My lack of fencing ability has been a constant source of sorrow to the ScienceGrandpa.

Unless it is a saber, in which case we're good to go!

Many eons ago, when Himself and I were moving from one house to another, we held a ginormous garage sale. My brother, who fenced in University, came down to help with security and brought a couple of things to sell too. Among them, his gear; face mask, breastplate and foil.

A couple came by and one of the two insisted on buying the gear "for fun." The older partner resisted, and then gave in when young'un donned the mask and flourished the foil. I was sitting behind the cash desk trying to imagine which game would be played that night: Swordsman and abducted Maiden? Pirate Attack? I suppressed giggles until they left, so much so that I gave myself the hiccups.

Cassandra, I failed Home Ec also, because I had already been cooking for years and could not be bothered to follow the (very boring, traditional, white-bread) recipes we were supposed to master before moving onto challenging items like casseroles. And I'm a clutz, so I couldn't sew an apron to save my life.

I don't usually like to do this, but --
From the WaPo homepage:

"Foot Found at Dump Not Bigfoot"

Well, no, the foot probably isn't Bigfoot. But what I want to know is, is it Bigfoot's *foot*?

And then there's "'Idol' Studdard Stress Fitness."

What the bleep is going on here?

Recovering from tree extraction -- 187 ft. black out removed from the narrown space between two houses, complete with power, phone and cable lines. When it is not so squishy out will count tree rings in the stump. Diameter in one directection is 58 inches. Wow. Sad. But trees can kill and this one had malice in three major branches.

SciTim: My Darling Daughters fenced with Janusch S. at DCFC in Silver Spring for many years.

Ivansmom: If you go Nationals next time, look for 16 year-old C. Duncan: Bright red hair and freckles to boot. He is a local fencing fave.

BC: I MISSED the guitar chat. Danny Gatton played at Chick Hall's Surf Club in Riverdale many times. I heard him several times because of social connections with his bass player John Previti. I still hear John play there with several groups including hillbilly jazz. My son hangs out there with the DC Blues Society peeps, playing drums in his turn.

To all: The high school stuff was funny. Me? The justice-do-gooding group with a measure of dork-nerdness. We lobbyed for admissions to dances that were 50cents plus a can of food for the Rescue Mission. High school was hard for me because we moved from Montana to Central CA two weeks before my senior year. Like moving from God's Country (sorry, you West BiGod Virginiana) to Malibu Barbie territory. It was great however, to not be captive to or scripted by the clicks. Cesar Chavez was organizing just down I-95 in Delano, CA. Liberation theology was afoot in suburban neighborhoods: Grape and lettuce boycotts,Hershey over Nestle concerning infant formula -- some increasing understanding of the lives of people who made cheap food possible. Whatever people say about Archbishop Roger Mahoney in LA now, I saw him take on wealthy farmers, especially Catholic large-scale farmers, taking them to task. Saw Pete Seeger sing in Fresno! Good times.

Oops -- forgot to add, Kate Graham is rolling in her grave.

Yoki: Buckwheat noodles? Do you cook with them? How do you make them NOT look like cardboard mash? They don't reheat well? Help, me O Contessa of Alberta!

Ivansmom, you know the funny thing is that nothing took the place of guns again once their dad made them rifles. After that they sepnt a lot of time 'hunting' and bringing home game, which we would cook up and serve with tea, only the tea was chocolate. The one thing I knew was that they would be exposed not to the guns, ever, but to the hunting culture, and even at 3 they knew that their dad used a gun when he hunted. So we taught them what they are used for, and never made a big deal of it. In the long run, wether they played hunting or not did not make them interested in it, and none of them hunt now, though they may as they get older. Hard to say. What they came away with is that hunting is central, the gun is not.

In American native or mass-produced jewelry .925 is standard, but not so in art jewelry or hand-smithed or cast silver pieces (in the same way people buy / fabricate with 18k+ gold rather than 14k). I tend to work in fine, Bali, Thai or Hilltribe silver, as do many of my compatriots, or we'll reticulate sterling to burn out the copper for a special look or other properties (better casting, less firescale in difficult-to-polish pieces, whiter metal, less tarnish). The current trend is not to hallmark, but to sign or attach a silver charm tag. Depending on the gauge of the silver and the smith's skill, hallmarking can show through or otherwise disfigure a finished piece.

Am I the only current Philly native here? Forget Pat's and Geno's--lousy tourist traps, awful steaks. If you get a chance, there are really good steaks @ Lee's Hoagies and going there also gives you a good shot at a great hoagie. And Jim's, of course.

I went to high school with Don Bruno's niece. Everybody was nice to her.

Too busy to try to keep up.

bc's 1:15 made me snort;

CowTown's 1:48 speaks for many; and

'Mudge I completely disagree with the Kurtz column on the sameness of commercial radio, why, I like to listen to Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'" 84 times a day on the thirteen "Classic Rock" stations in our town.

Hello dBg, TBG, RD and other friends! *Arms waving about like Grover*

Buckwheat noodles? Like Soba? A quick bath in boiling water until still more crunchy than al dente but not actually crunchy (my favourite cooking instruction: "remove just before done"), a thorough rinse under cold running water, and a good stir-fry with very little, very hot oil (choose an oil with a high smoking-point, like grapeseed or canola [peanut takes the heat, but is very high in undesirable elements]), and then toss with aromatics; some sesame oil, some chopped scallions, etc. and then pour hot broth over... Does this help? I think the trick with Soba is not to mush them around too much, or they get mushy.

Oh no:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/21/AR2007022100542.html

And an article on the advisability of taking dogs mountain climbing - on Mt Hood - in the winter:
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2003581587_climberdog21m.html

(Wilbrod, Wilbrodog, where are you? *waving arms like Grover*)

Would it be confusing if I changed my handle to "Contessa of Alberta?" I'm kind of liking it!

>Am I the only current Philly native here?

Not in Philly but I was there the other day. Just a bit up 95 from you over the Delaware. I was thinking much the same about the cheesteaks. And it's not in your bloodlnes - I'm Irish/English/German and I made some of the best. As Mudge would call them "The Trenton Variation". It's in the grill, the ingredients and.... the intention. There's a lotta love in a proper cheesteak. And no Velveeta.

Of course, my stepfather's name was "Joey D." and I do talk with my hands, so...

Mostly, I know she won't be dancing to "Two of Us" (this works, ironically, on two levels).

Yoki, you gotta go with what moves you.

Yoki, your remark about a less than stellar performance in home ec was the perfect throwaway summary of school's limitations. Most of our real learning is at home and for fun, i.e., learning to please and to imitate parents/neighbors/sibs, feeling what it's like to really concentrate on something. School fills in gaps, especially in technical skills, and imposes regularity and discipline. In the long run, for many of us, it also pushes us toward a career.

I think (and write) way too much about what high school was like because formal secondary education was the only thing I was ever really good at. The teacher, the classroom, the book, the test, the pencil, the pen, the absolute utter warping efficiency of it all. I was a smart-alecky grind, trying to look as if I were insouciantly applying raw talent, although I went home and sweated bullets over my desk each night. True, it's better to be a good student than a goof-up, and I had some fine teachers, but still, from another perspective I've been sorry, repentant, and in recovery ever since.

Contessa of Alberta, thank you. I will think of them as stir fry noodles and not soup noodles.

I like the flavor and am trying to get Son of CP to notch up the carbohydrate quality a bit.

SCC: I realized, too late, that I impermissibly used the adverb ironically above:

"The words ironic, irony, and ironically are sometimes used of events and circumstances that might better be described as simply "coincidental" or "improbable," in that they suggest no particular lessons about human vanity or folly. Thus 78 percent of the Usage Panel rejects the use of ironically in the sentence In 1969 Susie moved from Ithaca to California where she met her husband-to-be, who, ironically, also came from upstate New York. Some Panelists noted that this particular usage might be acceptable if Susie had in fact moved to California in order to find a husband, in which case the story could be taken as exemplifying the folly of supposing that we can know what fate has in store for us. By contrast, 73 percent accepted the sentence Ironically, even as the government was fulminating against American policy, American jeans and videocassettes were the hottest items in the stalls of the market, where the incongruity can be seen as an example of human inconsistency."

my bad

Hi EF,

Saw EF the First, your swashbuckling forebearer, in a late night film. Robin Hood, it was, but it was late and I fell back to sleep.

Hope you are flying well these days.

What's like a cheesesteak without the cheese? Are they always sandwiches on long bread? If so, then the SoCal equivalent might be something from a Subway sandwich shop? I wiki'd cheesesteak and learned a grinder is a toasted sub, but The Grinder, the first and best sub shop I can remember, in Riverside CA, didn't toast them. Maybe things were different 40-45 yrs ago. They were next to an A&W stand where in summer a half-inch of ice instantly formed on the inside of the mugs when they took them out of the brine. (The owners spent winter in Florida.)

Yoki, there is a wall-sized (floor to ceiling!) map of Alberta around the corner from my new office at work and think of you and dr every time I pass it.

Yoki, Contessa of Alberta works for me, although dr may arm wrestle you for the title, or perhaps we can find something suitable, Empress of Saskatchewan?

The grover *waves* still crack me up everytime.

If Philly has Cheesesteaks what *nutritional* delights should I take part in in Boston (non-seafood or at least non-fishy fish)?

CP, I'm with you. Not only are they complex carbs, they are also delicious. If you need a hook, wait until Son of CP next has a cold, and then serve him a big bowl of Soba soup, dressed with garlic/chili sauce. He will convert instantly.

LTL-CA, a cheesesteak without cheese is called a *steak*. There's also cheesesteak salad. Mmmmmmm. Everything but the roll on top of lettuce and tomatoes (kind of like a cheesesteak hoagie), balsamic and a little olive oil. Harder to find.

The rolls are similar to Italian bread. I love Subway for other reasons, but they don't have anything close to any kind of steak sandwich.

I think EF probably uses provolone? instead of Velveeta. Error?

Yoki, dmd, TBG, *waving* back at'cha.

dmd, you could try to find my Boston grandma's traditional Saturday night supper - Boston brown bread with raisins baked in a coffee can, and a crock of real boston baked beans.

Or you could not. Really. It was delicious, but ... how to put this delicately? Maybe real Boston people will have other, less beany ideas?

dbG, I understood cheesesteaks were sliced up like bacon, which isn't how I would cook a steak -- BBQ0ing an intact NY steak as I write.

TBG, is that map left over from the Smithsonian's "Festival of Alberta Culture" exhibit during Folklore Week last year? Deeply embarrassing. You know the old joke?

What's the difference between Alberta and yogurt?

dbG, Subway and steak are, indeed, oxymorons, though there are other merits.

I don't know that dr is looking a new handle, but if she were, I would suggest 'skip.'

Wheezy that bread sounds amazing and the beans remind me of my mom, frank and beans was always a quick supper when we needed it, I love the bean sauce - beans not so much- I have food issues - sorry.

For some strange reason you post gave me a craving for corned beef and saukraut - can't explain it must be the link to my mom. Thank you!

OK Yoki what is the difference - Yogurt has more culture? Ducking and running off to bed before the western umbrage begins.

No umbrage taken. The punchline I heard was,

"Yogurt has active culture."

My new boss loves maps. We've got them all over the place. This one is literally from floor to ceiling.

I've discovered something about Alberta: there's not a lot of stuff between the floor and the ceiling.

*laughing*

LTL-CA, somewhat wider and thinner, you always buy it frozen. It's street food, relatively cheap, sliced thin because it's not NY strip or any kind of *steak* at all.

You can also get *chicken* cheesesteaks, which are wonderful (what did you expect someone who has soft pretzels for breakfast to say?) . . . another week or two of warm weather and it's time for wodder ice!

dbG, 10-4 and thanks.

I looked up Subway's web site and they show something they call steak and cheese, which comes with grilled onion and bell pepper, and is sitting on some lettuce. Looks good. Possibly a cheesesteak cousin.

...and on tomato slices, too.

I have to confess that, although I'm from western PA, the first time I had a cheesesteak was when a friend who lived near Baltimore introduced me to them. My husband made his version for dinner tonight (and I don't think he's been boodling) - very good - he used round steak, sliced very thin while frozen - grilled onions, Velveeta! - on a long sandwich roll.

I like Subway for the meatball sub, but I prefer local sub shops here that are run by Vietnamese immigrants. They are slightly horrified when I ask for my sub without mayo or mustard - just vinegar and oil - which is how I remember hoagies from PA.

bill everything, very funny. I'll probably have to watch at least once.

Best subs I've ever had were at Mr. Fooz in Blacksburg, Va., in the mid-seventies.

pj... you remember them? Wed night happy hour at Mr. Fooz wasn't so bad, either.

The Subway thing they call a steak is an abomination. Trust me on this. As is the alleged meatball sub. However, the Italian BMT and others in that category are pretty good.

dbG, laughing at "wodder ice." Most excellent.

When I read mo's comment, I thought she had "cheesecake" - it wasn't till everybody started talking about cheesesteaks that I got it.

I'll have what she's having.

Yeah, Mudge, I nearly always order a BMT, but was wondering if they have something like a cheesesteak. Sounds like nothing close enough for a Philly native.

BTW, I was born in Chester County Hospital in Upper Darby!

...but I left Philly at age 3, too young to be considered a native, not having absorbed important elements of the culture like cheesesteaks. And the A's were there, too, along with the Phillies (who were Robin Roberts when I first discovered them). How about an NFL team in the 40s?

I'm told that en route to LA, I was running up and down the aisle of the DC-3 (itself going up and down) saying "Whee!" while the passengers were mostly airsick.

No, we didn't do provolone, I think it was slices, white or yellow? orange? What the h3ll was that stuff... I dunno, I used to slice it though. Prime beef Australian rib-eye, 4oz per steak and you got 1-4 steaks on a roll, tomatoes, garlic and oregano and the "special seasoning". :-)

You need a gril with a 1/8-1/4" layer of baked-in grease and cheese and onions.... oh you get the onions going in the corner of the grill (hot peppers optional) and you'd drop the steaks on 'em, throw down the cheese and lay in a nice People's or Barbero's roll over the whole thing. You press it down, move it around a little, use the tips of your fingers to keep from being burnt by the gas jets coming out of the bun... and finally it becomes One, and you slide it all together carefully up and off to the side prep table where it gets some tomatoes, oregano, and whatever else floats yer boat.

Ah, those were the days.

This is funny, in a grim way, in relation to the US "surge" in Iraq. From BBC web site --

Headline:
Iraq leader welcomes troops' exit

First sentence:
Tony Blair's plan to recall 1,600 British troops from Iraq within the next few months has been welcomed by the country's president.

For a woman on a strict slimming regime, Error's 11:43 was pure torture. I could *so* get outside a cheesecake.

SCC: cheesesteak of course.

It is very difficult to get a good cheesesteak sandwich outside of PA, however, the finest I ever had was at Elizabeth's Pizza in Fayetteville, NC. The bread makes a big difference-chewy, crispy crust-think baguette but not so hoity toity.

On the topic of changing one's name:

"So this bloke with the dog didn't have a name. I mean, he must have had one at some stage, but he told me he didn't use it any more, because he didn't agree with names. He reckoned they stopped you from being whoever you wanted to be, and once he explained it to me, I could sort of see what he meant. . . . this geezer, he could be like a hundred different people all in one day. He told me to call him whatever came into my head, so at first he was Dog, because of the dog, and then he was Nodog, because we went for a drink in the pub and he left the dog outside. So he'd had two completely different personalities in the first hour we spent together, because Dog and Nodog are sort of opposite types, aren't they? Bloke with dog is different from bloke with no dog . . . . Human beings are millions of things in one day, and his method understands that much better than like the Western way of thinking about it."

-- from the novel "A Long Way Down," by Nick Hornby

I'd do the Grover arms, but I need more coffee... *L*

Yoki, Contessa of Alberta is great, as long as you don't do the Barefoot version for another month or four. :-)

EF, I was totally unsurprised (unlike the Christie's staff) and very pleased about the sale, actually, but yes indeedy people have too much money.

And I think Google Ads needs more coffee, too --

the arts and tech law grp
Stop competitor, employee, partner piracy and business litigation
www.theartsandtechnologygroup.com

*L*

Because I said so , I've posted a few words on my brother in law who passed away 2 weeks ago.

http://mysite.verizon.net/vze35fvj/Mark.htm

Life has really hammered me this month and for the first time since I began lurking around here, I haven't been able to keep up. Not that I've ever considered myself as part of the proverbial 15, but I'll have to reduce my membership to that of an auxilerary member.

Usually, I attempt to give up beer for lent, however for this year, my wife is strongly advising me to quit blogging, especially the Mommy blog.

I'm torn. Maybe I'll sneak back here on feast days. :-)

i have insomnia, but what are you folks doing up at this ungodly hour (on the east coast)?

Pat, if you must go, we'll save a spot for you. Godspeed. :-)

LTL-CA, some of us see no point in going back to sleep for 45 minutes when our GF gets up for work... *L*

SCC: L.A. lurker, of course...

*scrambling for more coffee*

:-)

Pat, what a wonderful tribute. Thank you for sharing it with us.

Pat, thank you. Your tribute is worthy of its subject matter.

******

Dreamer, that Hornby has a way with words/story, doesn't he? Not many could take the subject matter of A Long Way Down [suicide] and make a witty, entertaining book out of it.

*****

The Boodle That Never Sleeps--pretty impressive.

*****

...Leaving for work, now!

Every now and then (maybe, oh...once a year) George Will writes a good column. Today he outdid himself in writing an incredibly stupid, ill-titled, pointless one. It is so bad I'm not gonna even link to it.

On the other hand, Broder has an interesting (if somewhat typically boring) column on the insanity of the primary campaign process.

Gee dmd, racking my brains for some good food around here that doesn't involve fish or shellfish. I don't like beans so can't recommend that as an alternative. We have great Italian restaurants in the North End but you may not want to drive that far. There's a very good and inexpensive Italian restaurant in Framingham called La Cantina, worth the ride but always a long wait for a table around dinnertime.
There was big excitement in Upton this past week, a cow got loose and the police spent four hours in the middle of the night chasing it down. It even rammed a cruiser at one point. All was well in the end, he/she was captured without harm.

Aw c'mon, Sneaks!!!

How about anything involving native maple syrup??? Or a nice boiled dinner? *L*

I'll have some of all New England's delicacies sure when I come up there for a little vacation, starting tomorrow. :-))))))))))

Achenblog: The Empire upon which the sun only occasionally sets.

SCC: for sure

A little pre-vacation excitement, donchaknow.

:-)

S'nuke, I also don't like boiled dinners so that wouldn't come to mind quickly. Maple syrup seems more of a condiment than a food, although I do stand corrected in the sense that if you put it on something good, it would enhance the experience. Also, I'm still half asleep. That's my excuse for everything within the first two hours of waking up.

Hope you and dmd both have a great time up here, the weather forecast doesn't look to bad over the next few days.

Good morning, friends. I've been up so long, but I was cooking. Chicken with garlic and onions baked in the oven. Started this activity last night and finished up this morning. Everyone is welcome to some. I would fax it but don't have a fax. Whole chicken, too.

A lot of stuff talked about on the boodle yesterday. The story of Einstein was not good, in the sense, that he was not a good person, as in loving husband and father.

And of course, what would the boodle be if we did not talk about methane?

Saw the pictures of Achenbro, and I thought he was the one with the dark tresses.

Glad to see you back, Ivansmom, and I hope the boy is doing okay.

Yoki, I like the new handle, go for it.

I am so disappointed this morning. Maya did not show up, but the program went on. And to top that, our community organization did not get the funding for our diabetes program with children. They emailed me the news, of course, it would not have been better in any other form. And last, but not least, I am getting beat up emotionally and in my spirit trying to help a friend's children. The mother isn't treating me so great either. Ah, life, it is good, no?

Have a good day, my friends. Mudge, glad your grandson is enjoying himself. Slyness, the offending party in the grant request is from your fair city. We will try to move on. Diabetes is killing our kids because most of them are too fat. Funders don't really want to help African-Americans unless it is a structured deal. They generally want oversight from someone else. Everything here that is done for people that need help is put in the hands of those that don't need help. When we (African-Americans) try to help ourselves, that seems to offend. I really wanted to do this program because adults need this, as well as the children. Children don't buy groceries, they have to eat what's set before them, and McDonalds, Burger King, and the rest of that ilk, is not the way. I'm just disappointed.

God loves us so much more than we can imagine through Him that died for all, Jesus Christ. Peace.

Pat, I hope you stick around.

Bad Sneaks, cows on the loose - not sure I can take that excitement! I understand we will be a small Canadian contingent and the guys will be taking on the Yanks in hockey - we are such a cliche.

Pat that was a lovely tribute, thank you for sharing it.

So much for the supposition that the Royals leaned on Tony Blair to keep Prince Harry safe...

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/world/AP-Britain-Prince-Harry-Iraq.html?hp

Cassandra, I am sorry you sound so dispriited today. Your program sounds like a worthy cause I hope something works out for you.

Scotty I saw those articles on Prince Harry the other day, in those articles they stated that although he will be going he will also have "security detail" - there is a job I would not want, seems to me if he insists on going he should be willing to assume the risks that face the other soldiers and should not get special protection. Then again I am not a monarchists so I am biased.

New Kit guys!

dmd;

As I understand it the Prince hasn't asked for any special protection, but the MoD sure seems to understand the increased risk involved for ANYONE near him if he went out on "patrol." Almost sounds like they'd restrict his movements to "protect" everyone else. *shrug*

This is a test. Just a test.

Wheezy is testy? why?