First repost!

---

For those who think watching paint dry is just a little too titillating...

http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/internet/05/08/cheese.site/index.html

Posted by: martooni | May 8, 2007 01:20 PM

Hi everyone, I'm busy and can only pop in for a moment.

Gainesville the best city in America?

I've spent plenty of time there, and I have to say - I don't think so. It is far far from the worst, though.

bc

And here I was hoping to retire to Crawford, Texas.

At least the State managed to buy San Felasco Hammock when it was affordable. By way of explanation, it's a hardwood forest (sort of a rarity in Florida) named for a non-existent saint.

I hear the latest retirement fad is to check into a unversity-related retirement community with some kind of special relationship to a university. In the case of UF, maybe such a retirement community could house a few classrooms and invite in real UF courses that can't find a place to meet on a campus that hasn't kept up with enrollments. A biology teaching lab would be even better.

The worst city in America is Terre Haute, Indiana. I will accept no quibbles on this, really.

First of all, there's the smell, which creeps 5 miles in all directions and is half industrial, half skunky/manure-y. Then there's the abysmal boredom of the place. And the fact that the entire area is anonymous low-end suburban sprawl. Of course, the weekend I was there it rained all the time and the highlights of the trip were visiting Eugene Debs's house and his gravesite. With two small, bored children. Good times.

Joel wrote;
The one with the old drive-in root beer stand where the waitress hangs a tray on your car window and you feel like you're in American Graffiti.

Uh, that'd be George Lucas' hometown of Modesto--that same city that was at the bottom of the USA Today list.

Mudge writes:
And here I was hoping to retire to Crawford, Texas.

Mmmm, I think if you asked nicely, Cindy Sheehan might let you live in her treehouse? Since you'd be leaving your job on The Dark Side, you could start up a new Republican-friendly newpaper to replace the Crawford Iconoclast that folded several years ago when the weekly make the social fax pas of endorsing the tall guy from Mass., although the publisher and my reporter friend young Nate Diebenow are still printing just up the road, northerly in... (the town is so small I've forgotten its name).

As far as the lay of the land--the trees, the wildflowers including Indian blankets--to the north of Crawford, you couldn't do better as far as Central Texas. Hey, you might be able to get a part-time job clearing brush on some big-acre spreads around there.

I was in Baltimore just this weekend and painted on the front of the park benches there are the words "The Best City In America."

Which leads to two questions:

1: Do the backs of said benches say, "So SUCK IT, Gainesville"?

2: And why do the garbage/recycling bins says "BELIEVE"? Some kind of fundy trash miracle network?

Loomis, I'd rather go quail-hunting with Dick Cheney, or otherwise put a large-caliber bullet into my brainpan than live in Crawford, Texas.

More seriously, here's a general question for everybody: Think of all the places you have ever lived in your life since relative adulthood (excluding college or military, where the choice was kind of forced on you) and calculate how many years in your life you have lived in a place YOU wanted to live. In other words, you had pretty much a "free" choice not dictated by your job, your spouse, your income (or lack of it).

I ask, because I've been aware for quite some time that in my own life (the last 38 years, since college), I have not lived where I wanted to for one single moment. Not ever. (And I take this to be pretty common for many of you, too.) Anybody?

(P.S. I didn't mean someplace totally unrealistic, like in a New York penthouse, or Paris, or the Riviera. I meant someplace reasonable and "doable" [except for income].)

Wait, didn't we already discuss this? I think Joel needs to tell us what tomorrow's topic is going to be, so we can be appropriately off-topic today.

Thanks for the mention in the kit. I spent my lunch hour contemplating exactly what is a college town. The most important criteria in my mind is the student enrollment to population ratio. According to Wikipedia, the following places have very high percentages.

Gainesville: 49,700 students:95,400 population - 0.52
Athens, GA: 34,000 students:100,200 population - 0.34
Iowa City: 30,000 students:62,200 population - 0.48
San Luis Obispo: 18,475 students: 44,147 population - 0.42

In the towns I thought of as college towns, the biggest surprising were:

Columbus, OH: 51,818 students:730,657 population - 0.07
Durham/Raleigh/Chapel Hill: 70,643 (UNC/Duke/NC State):1,079,000 - 0.06

Chapel Hill on it's own is a very college-townish 0.56.

I'm not sure I want to live where for every married couple townie, there is a drunken college student willing to urinate on my lawn.

Mudge, in answer to your question, not a single solitary nanosecond. I guess maybe you could count weekends at the mountain house, but that's more like visiting.

Hello achenbloggers. I have been too busy to post lately but I must comment on Colorado Springs as the number 4th best city. The Springs is not just where the religious right live (you'd be surprised but in a recent study is was acknowledged that the majority of citizens here don't belong to a house of worship). Colorado Springs is a beautiful small city at the base of the majestic Pikes Peak. The Olympic traing center is here plus a lot of thin people who love the outdoors. Joel, while your brother's view of Longs Peak is nice I'm sure Pikes Peak is much closer and an easier climb. Plus, you can drive to the top in the good weather...breathtaking (literally) views. The cost of living here is still reasonable and the weather...well, except this past winter and spring...is moderate. Most commutes, including mine are 20 mins or less. Having lived in the DC area for over 20 years, this fact was amazing when I first arrived here nearly 6 years ago. OK...commercial over. Thank you! And Joel, when will we see you in print again?

Strange Things I Have Learned From Joel Achenbach:
Water migrates through Gators leaving mineral deposits.
There is a Valparaiso University in Indiana.

Interesting calculations, yellojkt.

The Gainesville ratio should properly include the huge Santa Fe Community College, which has sort of a symbiotic relation with UF.

In Athens, one of the Lumpkin Street fraternities had a tradition of carpeting their front lawn with beer cans. Regrettably, the Greek bakery a couple of blocks north in downtown evidently long since disappeared.

As for Chapel Hill, it, like Boulder, is far too expensive for students. Somehow, "University of North Carolina at Carrboro" doesn't sound right.

Some Florida developer needs to import a prestigious but financially troubled liberal arts college, build a lovely Provencal campus (red brick is out, Tuscan is wearing thin, so I pick Provence as the next style)--and invite the retirees. The formula sort of works for Winter Park, an old Orlando suburb.

Joel mentioned Subterranean Circus, so head shops are on-topic. No college town worth its salt is without one. College Park used to have two until the locals cracked down.

Mudge,
In 1993, my wife and I decided we wanted to leave Florida at all costs. Every week we searched out of town papers for engineering positions (Monster.com, et. al. didn't exist yet). We were looking anywhere between Atlanta and Filthy-delfia. After months of looking, I had offers in Atlanta and Baltimore.

Once in Baltimore, my wife went back for a masters degree in teaching. After a year of interning there, my wife decided she wanted our kid to go to Howard County schools and she wanted to work in the same system our kid attended. That was a decade ago. I'm sure there are other places I would enjoy living, but Columbia has been good to me and I more or less had a choice.

That's a good question Mudge. I loved the Pacific Northwest, and have sometimes fantasized about moving back. Yet I had good reasons for leaving the place, and fear that there might still be ghosts hiding among the evergreen trees.

And I truly love Northern Virginia. It is dynamic, diverse, and close to everything.

My fear is that when I retire my wife will insist that we move away to some boring old-person region with beaches, golf courses, and all-you-can-eat buffets.

Which is one of the reasons I plan on expiring at my desk.

Interesting survey. Durham has the highest property taxes in North Carolina, even higher than Charlotte. I wonder if they took that into consideration? My younger child spent two years in Durham and, frankly, I wouldn't want to live there myself. However, the Book Exchange is an awesome used bookstore, a fire waiting to happen, but a great place to browse.

Mudge, I will admit to living exactly where I want to, but I'm a native and biased. When I get too old for the suburban lawn, I'd like to have a condo close to uptown.

I dunno, Yells; you may be overthinking it a bit. There are a ton of little towns that are college towns, such as Gettysburg, Millersville, Stroudsberg, West Chester, and Kutztown (to name just five Penna. towns I'm familiar with) that all have a college-towny flavor, yet are barely on the map and would never make it as a "city" by any definition. And New York City has about a thousand colleges in it, yet isn't a "college town" by anybody's measure. I think the answer is probably more a subjective thing the "mood" and atmosphere of the town and its relationship to its college(s), rather than any mathematical formula. I think college towns "know who they are."

I love Annapolis, and it has both the Naval Academy and St. Johns, but I don't think of it as a college town, per se. Yes, Annapolis loves its Middies, but I don't get the sense there's much town-and-gown interaction there; you don't just wander onto campus (beautiful as it is) to attend a concert or a lecture, or whatever.

(Look at Washington: how many colleges have we got? But it's hardly a college town by any means.)

And to pseudo-repost. I think any evaluation based on adding up scores is flawed. People are not at all shy about rejecting something based upon a single criterion, even if all others are glowing.

Think of it like a blind date. I assert it does not matter how attractive, intelligent, and charming your companion is if, during dinner, you discover that he or she is actually a she or he.

Unless, of course, that's what you were going for.

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What a sad result. If I've been an adult (relatively) for 31 years, I've spent 23 of them living where I really wanted to (Montreal, Calgary, London). That is pretty good, I think. The only place I've ever lived where I had to be dragged there kicking and screaming and loathed it throughout my tenure and never stopped planning escape, was the interior of BC, and that only lasted 3 years. The rest of the time I've lived places where I didn't really mind either way, so no suffering was involved. Interesting.

slyness,

Book Exchange is huge, but the that part of downtown is rather dingy, or at least it was several years ago.

Regulator Books and Cafe is much smaller but has that great hippie independent bookstore vibe. Have I ever mentioned I visit bookstores on vacation? At least often enough to know of two in Durham despite never having lived there.

Baltimore itself has been compared unfavorably with Baghdad.

http://livebythefoma.blogspot.com/2007/01/bawlmer-better-than-baghdad.html

The "Believe" slogan was part of a rather oblique anti-drug campaign.

I checked over at gainesville.com to see how they're taking the good news, but the front page is dominated by reports of a 16,000 acre brush fire and the annual Zucchini Festival.

http://gainesville.com/apps/pbcs.dll/frontpage

Silly me...

28. Rockingham County-Strafford County, N.H

University of Nude Hampsters is there, of course!

And HOW could they not include Boston?

:-)

Wheezy, you went all the way to Terre Haute and didn't go see the federal penitentiary? It has housed some famous folks (McVeigh, Manson). It perfectly rounds out the entire Terre Haute experience. No wonder you had a miserable time. I hope you got some of those square doughnuts at least.

All along I-70 west from Indianapolis to Terre Haute there are billboards touting all the things there are to do there. I shall never see one without thinking of your description of your visit.

Ahem...

Former Presidents George H.W. Bush and William J. Clinton are Keynote Speakers at the University of New Hampshire's 137th Commencement May 19

:-)

Colorado Springs is nice, as I recall. Hate Florida, or almost anywhere south of the Virginia/NC border unless maybe its Ashville. Pittsburgh is threadbare around the edges, but as a rule the folks out there are way more friendly and helpful than most around DC. I could deal with Durango, CO, or Portland, OR. I consider West Chester a suburb of Philly (speaking of places comparing "favorably" with Bahgdad). Kutztown is rather nice, though it is still within the "Amish Tourist Trap" around Lancaster.

Don't feel badly about passing up on those great real-estate opportunities. in 1987 I sold a plot of land in the Pacific Northwest for $45K, thus making a hefty 10% profit.

If I had held onto it until now I could have easily used the profits to pay the expected cost of my son's college education.

All twelve years of it.

Boston truly is a college town: BU, BC, Tufts, etc. Cambridge even much more so. In a stroke of marketing disingenuity up there with "The Best City In America", Baltimore is the Google I Feel Lucky hit for "collegetown"

http://www.baltimorecollegetown.org/asp/home.asp

Except for a couple of miles along and near Charles Avenue, you would never think Bawlmer had high school grads let alone world renowned colleges.

bill everything,

Last summer I drove I-70 from Baltimore to Utah and never thought of stopping in Terre Haute. I even got off in Columbus to see the first Wendy's. I did have some great barbeque in Kansas City, but I took the bypass around Indianapolis.

Now I'll have to go back and hit the lovely spots I missed.

I can be happy anywhere. Here is what makes me happy:

being able to bike and walk most places
knowing my neighbors
admiring nature (inside the Beltway!)
growing something
plying my trade
shopping/eating atMom & Pop biz-es
watching earnest local sports
living near artists and artisans
living near working class people

College Park fits the bill, nicely.

However I adored my childhood, I watched my entire mining community thrown into unemployment, dispair, and out-migration. Not being able to work is serious stuff. I cannot make a living, near the old home place.

I am with Omni: we are ALIVE. Much is possible with that springboard.

OK, then, next question: if you could live anywhere in the U.S. (or Canada, if so inclined), where would you like to live? (No filthy rich choices like Rodeo Drive or NY penthouse, etc., but something realistic.)

There's a couple places I've always wanted to live:

1) In a small town (Grovers Corners-like) in New England, preferably not too far from the ocean/water. One of those picturebook towns you drive through on your way to watch the leaves turn in the fall. (I have a "New England" soul. Don't know how I got it, but I've always had it.) It has to have a town square you can walk around, and the stereotypical town coffeeshop/handout/general store. (Where the Gilmore Girls live? Could be.)

2. In a funky coastal beach town that has a stereotypically tacky main drag parallell to the ocean with lots of neon, bars, seafood restaurants, tourist trap stores selling crappy stuff and suntan oil, etc. Just about any New Jersey resrot town would do, from Manasquan or Asbury Park in the north all the way down to Cape May (Atlantic City excepted) would do, or the west coast of Florida along Madiera Beach, Indian Rocks Beach, Tarpon Springs, even St. Pete Beach, etc. I don't know why; it's completely irrational--just always wanted to live in one.

3.) I'd go back to living in a city again, if it was the right part of town. I actually like living in cities and "city life," insofar as there's reasonable public transportation. Like yello, I could live on the 23rd floor of a condo on Connecticut Ave. I've lived the vast majority of my life in "suburbs," and I can do without them just fine. I'd live in San Francisco in a heartbeat. Ditto Chicago (except in the winter), Boston, Philly, DC, Seattle, Vancouver, maybe Montreal or Quebec. NOT: LA, Miami, San Diego, any place in Texas or the Gulf coast or any southern state unless within five miles of the Atlantic Ocean.

bill everything - Terre Haute has a penitentiary, too? And we missed it? Now *that* would have been a weekend!

Mudge love your choices, think my pick would be for a quaint town (but reasonably close to civilization). Something like Niagara-on-the-Lake. Real estate prices there will preclude that choice.

I kinda like it here. It's a nice neighborhood. Although if Scarlett Johansson where to move next door I could live with that.

I like the new question better. If I had my way, I would lead an entirely urban life. The whole thing; small but functional apartment or condo would be just fine with me in #1 New York (I'm torn between downtown or mid-town Manhattan and Brooklyn Heights); and then in no particular order Montreal, Chicago, Rome, San Francisco, Seattle, Vancouver, London, Dublin. Because I hate humid hot summers, I guess I would go for some of those over others, but I'd be happy in any case.

Repeating from the pre-Kit Boodle: if the Top 50 list takes cost of housing into account, I am not their target audience. Thanks to LTL-CA, who knew the current numbers, I can say that the median price of a house in Santa Barbara is over $800,000 and it is about $600,000 in Ventura County. Santa Maria is 70 miles from Santa Barbara (I used to commute between the two) and a sleepy cowtown with strawberries and vineyards, but no beaches. SB, a college town (UCSB, a flagship of the UC system), is beautiful and fun but boy is it expensive. While Ventura is beautiful, Oxnard is not, at least not by SoCal standards.

Try Minnesota, Mudge. It's awfully cold, but you can find rural really easily right out of Minneapolis/St. Paul. You don't have the oceans but you have thousands of lakes.

And it's easy enough to buy places near water where you can walk right down and fish (or boat). Also, it's where the Missisippi starts, so you can probably boat down to the Gulf of Mexico for winter. I had a cousin that used to have a houseboat, sail it down and winter in California (I assume he used the Panama canal?) and come right back up. Of course, he had a lot more money than I'll ever see.

'Mudge, I like the tacky-beach admission.

I would like to be walking distance to water. I would like the water access to be public. That would be nice.

1965-1977 I lived walking distance to the Great Falls of the Missouri River, near where Lewis and Clark and Co portaged (and struggled mightily).

1977-1982 I lived biking distance to the snowmelt Three River area in the Sierra Nevada Mountains (SUMMER). During the school year, I lived biking distance to the very marshy bottom of the San Francisco Bay -- Alviso Wetlands.

1983-Present: I live biking and walking distance to these creeks:

Paint Branch
College Creek
Sligo Creek
NW Branch
NE Branch
Lake Artemisa
(Unnamed criklit in Greebelt Pk)
Bladensburg Marina.

Lovely to be near water.

In answer to Mudge's first question, I'm lucky. Every move I've made was in response to an outside influence: job, school, housing. However, I've enjoyed living everywhere I went, even Houston for college (though I got pretty tired of the bugs). I liked living in urban Boston (okay, Somerville, blue-collar Boston) and in a big pre-war apartment building in DC (ah, public transportation and walking to shop). I liked beautiful Southern California, though our apartment left MUCH to be desired. My initial goal was to get out of Oklahoma, but by the time I came back I was ready to enjoy living here. After years in apartments I like not having any close neighbors.

Left to myself, and assuming there was water there, I'd move somewhere in northern New Mexico. Ivansdad is not eager to retire there. That's okay, since like RD, I plan to expire at my desk. Sometime in the future.

We have a small creek near the property. Many turtles live there, which is a key criterion for me. Also, I very much love the sound of running water.

Just as long as it isn't coming from the livingroom ceiling.

Back in my Navy days I was visiting Victoria B.C. a few times a year and dreamed about moving out there. Unfortunately about 100 000 people just did that since then and the place in now unaffordable. We would need both pension checks, a salary from my old outfit and the mrs. would have to find something at UVic to afford a house and a boat. And I hear the roads are congested with cars crawling along at 20 clicks below the speed limit with their blinkers on. I think we'll stay in old Ottawa, just move out to the more rural area.

The thing about urban life is, when I watch a TV show like "Friends" or any other show like that, where people live in apartments, I always have the same handful of thoughts:

What do these people do on weekends? They have no grass to cut, no garage to straighten/fix/paint. No attic, no basement. No exterior maintenance of ANY kind: zip, zero, none. Virtually no interior maintenance. They can clean their entire domicile in 90 minutes--and that's being compulsive about it.

What they do is read the Sunday paper (I'd kill to have three hours to read the Sunday paper. I'd effing KILL for that option.) They go to plays. They go to the Bergman Film Festival, or go see "8 1/2" for the 6th time. They go to all sorts of funky ethnic restaurants, bars and clubs. They go to museums. They drop in on each other. They go for a walk in the park. (They often don't own cars.)

Where I live, I can do none of that, not without getting in the car and actively "going" somewhere, and somewhere is usually 45 minutes to an hour away. I haven't seen a "foreign film" in 30 years that wasn't on cassette or DVD--and it ain't the same thing as a movie theater.

My lottery fantasy is to buy modest apartments in the following locations:

Upper West Side Manhattan
Aforementioned Connecticut Avenue in DC
Somewhere along the California coast between San Diego and Malibu
Seventh Arrondissement in Paris (just to keep my wife happy)

I would then spend a few months each year at a time in each location.

I also wouldn't mind a small cabin in the San Juan Islands.

When people have a chance, please check out Woodward's chat on Tenet.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2007/05/04/DI2007050401815.html?hpid=topnews

I am especially fond of the following quote:

Bob Woodward: Tenet and his C.I.A. got the WMD question in Iraq absolutely wrong. He's accepted reponsbility for that and said in his book that it was one of the lowest moments. The big problem here is an unwillingness by C.I.A. directors, politicians and journalists to acknowledge that at times they cannot provide firm anwers to hard questions. Tenet and the C.I.A. should've said the hardest thing for human beings in institutions to say: "We don't know."

yello, I have the same lotto fantasy, well except for some different places. Mine tend to depend a lot on weather, so it's seasonal homes.

I have prided myself in having never set foot in Florida -- never (*never*) had any desire to go there. I even have relatives there (cousins, I think), whom I've never met (can't even tell you their names). Although, I do have friends who live (part time and full time) in Sarasota, which I'm told is quite the place to be.

That said, I find myself following the song "wherever I hang my hat is home" quite a bit. I pretty much feel at home wherever I am, regardless of culture and language differences (in fact, I thrive under those circumstances). I'm set to go to Zambia in July of next year, and I fully expect to feel right at home once I'm there. I'm even learning one of the tribal languages.

Home, like life, is what you make of it. I hate my condo-from-hell, but it is what it is for the time being. I'm still going to make plenty of money on it when I sell, and that's the benchmark for me right now.

Ok, folks -- off to the gym. And for those who have not yet heard me on the subject:

*GO RED WINGS!!!*
*GO PISTONS!!!*

That is all. Carry on with what you were doing.

I've been to Minneapolis a couple times, Wilbrod, and have a close friend who lives there. But I could never hack it--I'm just not a cold-weather person under any circumstances, and getting "worse" the older I get. And while lakes are "OK," that's all they are to me. When I talk about water, I'm talking about major hydration-- a bay like the Chesapeake or Long Island Sound, or the ocean itself. Gotta have salt, if at all possible. The water's gotta have "fetch." There has to be a zillion boats nearby, preferably sailboats (none of those things you got in Minnesota count for much, to me--if you can tow it on a trailer I'm not much interested.) It's got to have "weather"--thuinderheads building up in the summer, squalls, nor-easters, offshore breezes, the smell of dead fish and salt flats, the whole "ocean" package. Mountain brooks just don't do it for me, pleasant as they are for an hour or two. But by the end of the second hour by a stream or a creek, I'm usually thinking, hmmm, I wonder if you can navigate to Portugal from here? But that's just me.

I like it right where I am, so I think I am in the same place as Omni and CP. After so many years of mrdr being away to work to keep the darn farm, I found that I'd have lived in a cave just so long as I didn't have to go on day to day alone, taking care of the little guys, with mrdr home for 2 days out of 20. Home is not a place for me. Home is family, not place and not walls.

All the places we have lived have had their own brand of beauty. The farm had light and the smell of fresh mown hay, Hanna had hills, and wide wide open spaces, Calgary had baseball, and the goosey park a couple blocks away, and the best darn needlework store anywhere, and here I am hidden in the middle of the forest. The next place will surely be as good.

dr, your description of "home" was fantastic.

Yes, there's a really big fire northeast of Gainesville, between and to the east of Waldo and Starke. The Gainesville Sun reports a pall of smoke.

By the way, the Best Places website persistently thinks I should live in San Francisco, Boston, Pittsburgh, L.A., Washington, New York, despite my efforts to emphasize affordability.

I'd be very happy if I could just live where I am for another 5 years.

Actually, live anywhere another 5 years.

Pardon this needlewoman-to-another interruption.

DR -- I may have found a pattern for lacey, knitted fingerless mits. Let's email a bit on this....a certain someone could use some wardrobe adornment. Besides, summer is perfect for a small, light-weight knitty-project.

Here is a clue to my email:

mb**** at toad dot net

**** is the name of a famous stadium in NYC AND the "butter" ingredient in lotions these days.

Got it?

Peace bulletin: Northern Ireland embarks on a new phase.

I will watch with great interest for the next marching season (July), as I have cousins living in Dunloy, Antrim: this is a flash point, with hideous vendettas still afoot. And, I know of cousins who are blood-related, yet live at odds with each other -- let alone the rest of the area -- in the uneasy and reactionary hornet's nest of tribal strife.

I admire Ian Paisley for working hard against his deep feelings of distrust. His flexibility is very important and notable. Whatever his inner wishes, he moved forward based in part on politics. He used to call himself the "hammer of Sinn Fein."

May others who suffer violent religious-ethnic-class strife find a way to political struggle. The blood-for-blood culture is dark and not of our better angels.

Well, you're the one to decide, Mudge, whether salt air and high blood pressure is an ideal mix or not.

Each to their own-- I personally think oceans are overrated.
Tsumanis, poisonous jellyfish and sea snakes, floods, storms, that persistent smell of dead fish, etc.

If I have to live near water, I want it to be theoretically drinkable if I have to boil it, not have things in it that could drink me alive. Yeah, I'm a wuss. I love the sea stories, though.

While I have no desire to *live* in Florida, we've been on birdwatching excursions there twice. Great place for a winter birding trip. (The fact that it's warmer than North Carolina in December is just a side benefit.) I recall driving home through Gainesville and not being much impressed, though we likely didn't see the good parts.

My lottery fantasy involves almost perpetual travel, not settling down anywhere. That's hard to accomplish even with expansive resources, though.

dr's remarks on home were spot on. However, I still think 'Mudge was asking, not "where is home?" but "if you had your choice, where you you make your home?" which is surely not opposed to dr's vision.

CP and Ivansmom made me think I need to clarify my point. Not a since time in my life have I chosen where to live absent job, school, spousal situations. But I've always found something to like in every place I've lived. My ideal location would be in the country, so I can enjoy scenery, horses, fresh air, but close enough to a city to have good dining and cultural activities. So far I've decided that means outside of Charlottesville

Zackly right, Yoki.

Gee, I have this sickly feeling coming over me...like another onset of scurvey...feeling weak...dizzy...I think I have to shut down my computer now and go out into the world in search of antiscorbutics.

Later, dudes.

Hey, isn't there a BPH tonight? Y'all have fun, y'hear.

I love your questions Mudge, it's something that I think about all the time. Unlike many of the Boodlers, I've only lived in two places, SoCal and Hawaii (Honolulu). Living in L.A. was my choice but it was driven by employment and wasn't the city of my dreams. When I first moved there all I could think of was how fast I could find a job somewhere else and move. That didn't happen though, I ended up living there for 8 years, happily as a matter of fact. I moved back to Honolulu mostly because of family issues.

My dream places to live:

Like Mudge, I have a New England soul, I love the small coastal towns on the water with the Victorian cottages. Would love to have a home there to stay in the summer and fall. I always fancy myself being some kind of This Old House person.

Washington, DC. My dream place to live because I am a huge, huge history person and a political junky. It's one of the reasons I read this blog, I love the life in our nation's capital. When Alohaspouse and I were ready to leave L.A. the DC area was the #1 choice. Unfortunately, it was an election year and no one was hiring in my field until they knew who the POTUS was going to be. Maybe it's good we didn't make it out there yet. Our back-up plan is to wait until Alohakids are in college and then rent our house out and spend a couple of years working in DC.

"What they do is read the Sunday paper (I'd kill to have three hours to read the Sunday paper. I'd effing KILL for that option.) They go to plays. They go to the Bergman Film Festival, or go see "8 1/2" for the 6th time. They go to all sorts of funky ethnic restaurants, bars and clubs. They go to museums. They drop in on each other. They go for a walk in the park. (They often don't own cars.)"

Sigh, this is just how Himself and I lived in downtown Montreal, BK and BD. I loved every minute of it.

I'm late for a BPH...

InconCEIVEable!!!

:-)

Two international BPHs in a row! Remarkable. Hope you all have a wonderful time.

Here here, hoist one for us Scotty!!!

And another reason I'd love to live in the DC area, to attend a BPH at least once in my lifetime!

dr - I have to agree on you there. Except for Calgary, I didn't really like it there too much, though having the park nearby was nice.

Myself, I have always been of the mind that where I am doesn't matter so long as I have access to family, friends and a golf course I am where I want to be. Maybe thats why I didn't like Calgary, nobody that I could truly call a good friend.

Further south would be much nicer for me, if only for the extended golfing season.

A true meeting of the minds, CP. I have found string.

It was a crying shame that some mother or other was forever telling you no you could not take your clubs up on Nose Hill to hit a few, Kerric.

A price was paid for all that moving after we left the farm. 4 moves in 4 years was a lot. My sorrow is that though we all were glad to live under one roof, there were things we missed too.

The best things about Gainesville are the fairly strict development rules there, and the people. Okay, apparently the Achenbachs have all moved away. But I was in a bookstore there while visiting and Harry Crews was behind me in line while I was buying a book by -- Harry Crews! The clerk, almost surely knowing that was Harry, asked me if I knew Harry Crews. Rascals. I recognized that unmistakable face on the way out.

Seriously, the best city to live in - the one I am going to move to when I can - well, I'm not going to tell you.

When visiting Florida, please follow the rubber lines for your comfort and safety. Thank you.

At the risk of riding a hobby-horse yet again... melamine has been fed to farmed fish. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070508/ap_on_he_me/food_contamination;_ylt=AvnIo.0BBCHo_3B44A9xBxOKOrgF

The risk to human health is considered low, but just FYI; this food has been fed to hogs, chickens, and now fish that are intended for human consumption, not just furry housemates.

http://www.nationalledger.com/artman/publish/article_272613137.shtml

I'm ready to buy only US-produced food myself. Wilbrodog right now is on homemade.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/01/AR2007050101918.html?hpid=topnews

Ten or so years ago I lived for one year in W. Falmouth, MA. The postmaster knew my name within two weeks and the library was wonderful for such a small place. I spent some time in Woods Hole that winter, mostly at AA meetings (Cape Cod has a lot of wondeful ones). The two main restaurants took turns being closed, as aside from the people at WHOI, there wasn't anyone in town. Hard to find any place around these parts now that is quite that dead in the winter, maybe Provincetown, but it's bigger and more places stay open so not really. I very much like where we live now. We can walk to the beach and our little street is so old fashioned that I expect to see Wally and the Beav go by on their bikes at any moment. But we are within a short drive of pretty much everything we need on a regular basis and there is a commuter rail to Boston if we get the urge to go there.
 
It's been a stressful few weeks. I learned that my job will not have a future. The company does not hire full-time the people who do my job, this is my last week. Wish I'd known that in the beginning. So I've been feeling a bit down.
 
Then over the weekend, a very good friend called to tell me that she was having surgery for ovarian cancer on Monday.  They got it all, as far as they know, but she's got chemotherapy to deal with and the uncertainty of the outcome. She had no symptoms, it was discovered when she went for a routine colonoscopy. She is the second person I know who has recently been diagnosed with cancer when they went to the doctor for something else entirely. She is a sweet, kind and gentle person and I don't like to think about her not being here. I am heartsick just thinking about all she has to go through. If you are so inclined, please say a prayer for her.

I rather like suburban tasks. I enjoy building sheds and planting 'maters and fighting weeds. I groove on the smell of cut grass and the feel of dirt. There is something eternal and primal and satisfying about it all.

I just wish I had more time to really do the place right. You know, build the ornate fountain and intricate hedge maze that any proper yard should have. Design and install the stained glass windows for which the upstairs bedroom is just screaming out.

Of course, I might feel differently in 15 years. But for now I'm digging the 'burbs.

Sad news Bad Sneakers. I am sending you and your friend all the good thoughts and wishes I can muster.

I am so inclined Bad Sneakers. I will keep her in my thoughts.

Thanks, Wheezy. The reason for homesickness? After having spent almost all of my adult life in the DC Metro area, I decided to move to Scottsdale, AZ for my job - which links to the question Curmudgeon asked. When a job opportunity opened up, I chose to move out here. I love seeing the mountains pretty much everywhere I go. There are a lot of things I miss about "home" though - my entire family is back in MD. And the Sunday Wash Post. I can read it online but it's not quite the same.

As for where home is - I still think home is wherever my parents live.

Wow, quite a chat Gene Weingarten hosted. I must give the guy major credit. I can only imagine what some of the comments he *didn't* choose to put out there were like.

I never thought I'd hear a good thing said about Ian Paisley from anyone outside the wackier members of my family.
You really are too good to be true CP.

And the nice thing about the 'burbs for one of Italian extraction-- you can keep a lot of bags of concrete on hand "just in case."

AZbluehen-Mr. F gets to travel to DC fairly often for work and has learned that there is no greater gift in my eyes than the WaPo dead tree edition.

San Luis/Paso??? Pa Frost-in-law is ready to pull up stakes after a lifetime in the cattle business there. He was ok with the vintners showing up but the city folks with no real ties to the land drive him bonkers. Not so bonkers he won't take their money and run though.

Fargo in the top 50?! Now it is a fine place, and the abode of Frostson, but I can think of way more than 48 more liveable cities.

>You know, build the ornate fountain and intricate hedge maze that any proper yard should have.

Ah, RD I'll bet that's straight from yer grandpappy in the old country.

Sounds good to me.

I would very much like to be introduced to AZbluehen. You are welcome here, by me. I'm trying to decode the handle, and only get an Arizona resident who speaks German about fowl. Probably so off-the-mark you will scoff. But I think I would like to say "hello" whilst *waving arms about like Grover.*

I keep looking at the clock here in the MDST-zone, and thinking, "even as we speak, there is a BPH either on-going or recently-dispersed." As I think dmd is one of the Boodle treasures(like Cassandra, 'Mudge, 'Snuke, TBG, (oh, for pity's sake, I'm going to forget someone, so will stop much before I'm ready), I'm delighted she is Porching in DC.

When searching for 'my breed' (which is of course the Bernese Mountain Dog (and/or Rough Collie)) I considered the B(a)(s)(s)et Hound. I cracked up when the President of the B(a)(s)(s)et Hound Club of Canada sent me an informative email responding to my inquiry, with the signature tag-line "A B(a)(s)(s)et is an A(s)(s)et." When Himself came to investigate why I was LOL, he remarked, "It is a good thing the breed is not B(a)(s)(s)(h)ole Hound." And then he needed to bring me a glass of water.

The bizarre circumlocutions arise because my "comment was held for review by the moderator."

Testing...

Bass fisherman

bass guitar

base metals
brass medals
bass pedals

Interesting.

Basset hound

Bob S, you are clearly exempt from the usual rules. I swear I didn't say anything untoward except putting too many a's next to too many s's.

I reckon that wasn't it!

Yup, Yoki, LOTS of folks have (long since) stopped applying the usual rules to me!

: )

Of course, it could be that the electronic border between Canada and the US is being strictly monitored, given that we Canadians encourage radicals with our weak immigration laws and border control (or so I am told, without evidence to back up the statements).

Or perhaps the NSC is worried that I am using an "ethnic" handle that doesn't match my actual profile. Who knows?

Can you believe what I just heard on Countdown that Dick Norris said on Fox Noise that it is beter to send US troops to Iraq to be shot at there than on wall street here!!!!!!!!!

I seem to recall that Farley Mowat (of "Never Cry Wolf" fame) was properly branded a danger to the peaceable society of the U.S.

Darned trouble-making Canadians!

Boko -- If Ian Paisley can (finally) consider the irony of his position-- minister/preacher!!! -- and see the face of Christ in his enemy, than it is easy for me to say, this is good. Cassandra and others here will understand what I mean about seeing God and the dignity of each precious being.

(This is not to say that the humanist position is less valid. But, IP was at the same time, virulenty anti Catholic and a professing Christian (Minister to boot!).

I am surprised and actually quite hopeful that hardened hearts can yield. A cousin sent me an email saying that mystery-word on the street is that Palestinian and Israeli moderates are in Antrim NOW: Watching and taking notes. The Irish question is at least 800 years old. Hope for the world, this move to intense and sometimes ugly political struggle rather than terrorism.

'Tis a peace of exhaustion. I am contemplating this carefully: that extreme fatique could yield peace.

bh - Some folks just LOVE pissing other folks off. Sounds like our boy Dick is numbered amongst them.

The peace of exhaustion indeed, CP. People around there seem to have grown weary of the men with the guns. They no longer are quite so keen to keep the hatred of their ancestors alive.

I hope it is catching.

C.P. - What has taken some of these folks a good while to realize is that the "Irish question" in its current form is only about ten years old. The growing Irish economy, and the bombing at Omagh (and the unwillingness of Irish women to countenance such a thing any longer) changed everything.

"Peace of extreme fatigue"

I like it!

I am guessing that AZbluehen is an alumnus of the University of Delaware not far from that Top 50 city of Wilmington aka the place with two ways to bypass it.

Weingarten's chat today covered abortion, gun control, and whether or not there is a God. If he could have somehow dragged in homosexuality and the war in Iraq he could have built the perfect Rovestorm.

Testing:

Basset asset

The answer to the Irish question is "Why yes, I will have another beer."

The answer to the Irish riddle is "A potato and a six pack."

I tested - it's b.a.s.s.hole that won't go through. That was hilarious, Yoki.

Hey, folks. I have returned from the BPH, and yes indeed, we were international once again. In fact, our DMD was the very first one there, sitting at a front table. I came in next, and was looking around, and this attractive woman sitting there by herself said, "Now there's a face I recognize."

How can I put this delicately? It's been quite a while since an attractive woman sitting alone at a bar has said anything to me other than, "If you don't go away I'll call the police," or, "This is pepper spray and I know how to use it, buster!"

So it was with great relief that she smiled (something the others failed to do) and introduced herself (Ibid), and sure enough, it was DMD. There was a row of open tables toward the back (our "usual" and original BPH environs), and there we repaired to hold down the fort until the rest of the gang arrived. I believe I may have forced myself to quafe a caipirinha for purely medicinal reasons, while DMD introduced herself to the wonders of the legendary M & S $1.95 gigunda cheeseburger platter. Let's see, on hand for the festivities were Raysmom, Scotty, Omni, bc, QuadripolarTim, TBG, and mo, and LostinThought was expected momentarily when I had to leave to catch my &^%$#@ bus. I'm sure others will report in shortly or tomorrow.

That is a wonderful report, Mr. Curmudgeon. I just *knew* dmd is beautiful. Now I'm bouncing in my seat with happiness.

Wheezy, I'm glad you enjoyed Himself's funny; I think it and similar stuff is the reason we've been married for nearly 26 years.

The big money starts to realize global warming will have winners and losers:

http://marketplace.publicradio.org/shows/2007/05/08/PM200705081.html

New term I hadn't heard before: "greenwashing," i.e., throwing some money at global warming to give the appearance to give a Sam.

bill everything, wouldn't that be "give a Subaru?"

Wheezy: Yup

Best place to live, eh? How about Connecticut?

I mean, who doesn't want to live in Mianus?

Sounds like a good BPH! *waving at dmd in the US!*

Yoki, that's a funny story.

I see Seattle is not on the list, probably because of high housing prices and the infernal traffic. That's ok by me. My husband and I spent a lot of time moving when we were younger. Mostly out to rural MD and VA when we were in the DC area - then clear across the country, to Seattle, then back to VA, then Montana, then Houston (where we had friends, after depleting our savings in Montana), then back to Seattle where we've been for 20 years now. We finally came to the same conclusion that dr did, that it didn't matter so much where we were. But given that, I'd rather be here than most other places (especially Houston). I'd love to live way out in the country somewhere, or in a beach town. I haven't lived in the suburbs much, because usually we can't afford them, and they don't appeal to us (maybe it's a sour grapes thing). DC, San Francisco are so big - I don't think I could live in either place now.

RD, does your wife not like our 3D weather (dark, damp, dismal)? You should bring her in August, when it's glorious - go to the San Juans, see some whales - maybe she'd relent.

The BPH was fabulous, of course. Once again I meet a boodler and feel like I've known her forever. Always good to see the BPHers and share good times and commiserate over bad.

The achenwaitress had to serve another station, but she made sure to teach our waitress The Ways of the BPH. Separate checks for all!

On the way home Raysmom and I discovered that our wacky hairdressers are one and the same wacky hairdresser! Another boodle connection made. Is this world great or what?

TBG, I don't want to live in Mianus. Take the Conn, will you?

Gotta get to bed but wanted to leave you with news of incompetent:

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070508/LOCAL/705080456

SCC: "the incompetent." Sheesh, I even previewed it.

Ha, bill e! That was LOL funny.

Sleep well.

Bad Sneakers, sorry to hear about your job and your friend. Keeping you both in my thoughts.

Curmudgeon asked, in paraphrase, [Where have you lived since college that you've wanted to?]

Interpreting "since college" as "post-bachelor's", then for me it's

Tucson, AZ (5 years)
McLean, VA (25 years)
El Paso, TX (1.25 years)
Harlingen, TX (6 years)
San Antonio, TX (to date)

I can't say that any of them were bad; to the contrary, I have fondish memories of them all. There were things to like and things that one might have changed in an ideal world.

In the end we were glad to get away from the DC area because of the traffic and the increasingly not-fun work culture, but the area in general has much to offer.

Harlingen (we went there because of family) was a welcome chance to decompress from D.C. and it's not a bad smallish city. But after a few years we missed the bigger city life, moved to San Antonio and love it here.

I guess you do what looks good and take it from there.

Somebody I know wants a rose-gold engagement ring, wouldn't mind Celtic style and inset stones are a must.

I have no clue whatsoever about jewelry, let alone jeweling in the DC area. Any suggestions regarding price, quality, satisfaction...

Bad Sneakers, I'm keeping your friend in my thoughts.

Turlock, CA, the other town in Stanislaus County besides Modesto and in most respects a lot like Modesto, is the site of Cal State University Stanislaus. And the next town south of that, also similar, Merced, is the home of the newest UC campus. In the railway days, Merced proclaimed itself a gateway to Yosemite.

Bad Sneakers: very sorry on both accounts. You have my prayers. Your friend has you for comfort, laundry, gallows humor, and whatever else works.

Wilbrod: Black Hills gold vendors have the rosie-pinkie stuff your friend might want. Trouble is, unless they have progressed, the design requires a tiny grape cluster, etc. Celtic knots or cladaugh plus vinter-fruit: well, I guess it works if you are contemplating an Irish-Italian merger.

Very old gold, say from the twenties, is this rose-shade. I am lucky to have wedding tokens from the teens and twenties. The rose cast is warm. I don't like the yellow-ey metal near as much.

(A math professor buddy and his artist wife have mobious strip rings: nifty. And, they report, "they don't hurt at all!")

Glad the Porching hour was so fun. Raysmom and TBG have very different hair textures, right? So funny that they are coiffed by the same gentle mad man. Too bad he is in the foreign land that is Virginia....I need a clipping and the last one looked like garden shears at work.

griffith park has a nasty brush fire - there are some stunning shots of the observatory against a sea of orange. hope they get that thing out.

we've had about 2 inches of rain this winter, and fire season has come four months early this year. not good. not good at all.

I can understand that. I like yellow or red gold more than I like white gold myself, because it fits my complexion better.

However, rose gold is appealing-- it's basically a red gold alloy with 4% silver. If they could just do it with a more peachy tint, I'd be sold.

bad sneaks, positive thoughts your way.

I hope you'll be able to be a good friend for your friend, Bad Sneakers.

Since she'll have chemo to go through, she'll have days of weakness and fatigue after every chemo treatment. She will indeed be very much here for a while, but it won't be easy.

Sometimes the best way to do it is just not to think about loss until it does come.

I have known a few people who got cancer, some died, some didn't. Those who died certainly fit the description "The good die young." (Young being in their 50's)

USA Today points out that there are three places in Utah in the top 15. And then it says they are there until the crush arrives and ruins it. The problem is that once the place is 'noticed' it loses the things that made it stand out. A little more pollution along the Wasatch, and the beauty won't be something to behold, except after storms. Southern Utah, untouched ten years ago, now has the fastest growth in the country. Tucson and Santa Fe (Santa Fake) lost their charms eons ago. In the end, every town will be the same, and every town will be number 40 in the survey. The top will be rounded over, brought back to the mean. In every sense of the word.

I guess a town should fake a lot of crime, add ten degrees to the summer high, and rough up 'best city reviewers' as they stand in the rental car line at the airport.

Wow, the Griffith Park fire in L.A. is still burning out of control. It's so close to homes, historic sites, the zoo, the Autry Museum, the freeway, it's just amazing how huge the flames are. You're right L.A. Lurker, this is so not good.

i didn't know about the fire. it started in the afternoon and was looking like it would be contained by evening. i got on the freeway heading in the downtown direction around 8pm and this was basically what i saw (although it was more like dusk at the time):

http://yourscene.latimes.com/PHOTOS/LATM/1UserPhotos/65896E.jpg

i immediately got off the freeway and went back home (since traffic was not going anywhere) to find out what on earth was going on.

Before I go to sleep and then head out home, I want to say what a pleasure it was to meet the boodlers I did. It is rare in life to have people live up to the expectations you place on them but they all did, wonderful, intelligent and fun people - I had a great time am so glad I attended.

Mudge I recognized you because you were so distinguished!

Bad Sneakers I will keep your friend in my thoughts.

Night all way to tired to continue.

Error, almost forgot saw your post earlier about hoping for five years in your current location - I just hope that is just the start.

Reading where others have lived I realized that the only places I have ever moved to by my own choice, rather than the Army's, are Grand Forks ND for school, Lawton OK to work in a tire factory (quite fun actually), and Charlottesville, VA also for school (but going "home" to NoVA at every opportunity). That's 3 out of 38 addresses, 27 as an adult.

In the grand scheme of things I'd say the Army does just as good a job as I do, maybe better. I certainly wouldn't have chosen Honolulu, NoVA, or Tampa but love them all. This makes the selection of a permanent residence when Mr. F retires from the Army next year very scary. Who will we blame when Chez Frostbitten North turns out to be too north, too remote, too whatever?

Before I forget yet again, keeping a good thought for your friend bad sneakers.

As we boodle, LAT is blogging on housing costs, specifically LA vs other places....

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/laland/2007/05/the_225kayear_a.html

Good morning, friends. Bad sneakers, good thoughts your way, so sorry about your friend and the loss of your job, but will keep you and friend in prayers.

I've only lived in two places, here and WashDC. I don't like living in the city, love small towns, and not necessarily this one.

Glad every one had a great time at the BHP, and Mudge I laughed at your account at meeting dmd.

Slyness, I noticed your city did not make the list, but Asheville and the Greensboro area did. The incident I talked about in the other kit, the woman beating the child, happened in Raleigh. When I was young, I used to get off my job at three o'clock in the morning and drive to your city, Slyness, just to eat at an all night place and see the sun rise there.

Error, my hope is that no matter where you are in this world, that your life is long and filled with much joy.

Have a good day my friends. I'm up so early, just woke up and couldn't go back to sleep. This is my busy day. The children are getting restless because it almost the end of school, and they face the "test". I guess some of it is wearing off on me.

Morning, Mudge, Scotty, Slyness, Martooni, and all.*waving*

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

I have an idea that Superman grew up in Gainsville and that the houses have white picket fences.

Never heard of it. Does it exist in real life?

On the home page here at the Post, there is a picture of Vice-President Cheney greeting the general in Iraq. He made a surprise visit there. I keep wondering, and this could clearly be off the wall, and just my not understanding things, no surprise there, but is Cheney really our President? Could there be an agreement somewhere that Cheney is the real President, and President Bush is just the figure of the President? Perhaps this was the plan since the Vice-President had health issues and more than likely could not run for President? I need another cup of coffee.

Sounds pretty much right on the mark to me about Cheney, Cassandra. (Good morning, BTW. Good morning, Boodle.)

If I were Hillary's speechwriter, my next speech for her would open with: "Hello, I'm Hillary Clinton, and I'm running for Commander Gal."

LOL, Mudge.

Oh, good morning, everybody! Hey, Cassandra. I will try not to be offended that you came my way and never looked me up. *wink*

I woke up early too, but that's okay. I've got plenty to do today, so I might as well get a move on.

Ohmigosh, how hilarious is this? She has a wicked sense of humor!

Hours before the queen ended her visit, it was time for her to give President Bush a sly payback. On Monday, he had made a faux pas, suggesting while welcoming her that she had been a witness to American independence in 1776. At a dinner at the British ambassador's residence last night, she wondered aloud whether she should start her toast by saying, "When I was here in 1776. . . . " Elizabeth ruled, and mirth and laughter reigned.

-- Martin Weil

Funny, funny! Slyness, I know Martin Weil. Small world.

Re NASA visit my neighbor said the color of her ensemble was electric spring green! My friend caught her eye and received a bit of a chin dip....and of course the special and distinctive wave.

Last. Day. of. Classes. Rescue office hours all this week and next. Let the games begin.

Cassandra -- your brain works pretty darn good so early in the morning.

Morning all!! *post-BPH-excitement Grover waves* :-)

Sneaks, you and your friend are in my thoughts.

I have no idea how, but somehow the BPH got started without me. I also have no idea how, but the BPHers managed to carry on without disturbing the very heavy necking going on a couple tables away. We considered asking the Achenwaitress to hose the lovers down, but she said they were good tippers.

dmd is indeed a delightful and lovely lady, and carried on in the Canuckian BPH tradition. And it really WAS all about *Tim's... breadth of experience. :-) *Grover waves* were had, much hilarity ensued, and this tired Boodler's soul was much refreshed. Pictures to follow this evening, I promise!

:-)

Thanks to all for the good wishes for my friend. I've been fortunate up to now in never having a friend with a life threatening illness so this has hit me hard. Add the prospect of job hunting again to the mix and I am filled with anxiety. My friend and her husband have a summer home near me and they are in the process of remodeling it for full time use. I was excited to have her so close by with visions of more visits and fun. She is planning to be down here as soon as she is able, which at least gives me the opportunity to be more useful to her. She was very supportive and helpful to me when I needed her, I pray I can do the same for her.I am trying to stay positive about all of this. It does make me realize how precious every day is and how quickly things can change.

Aren't modern psychotropic drugs wonderful? The GOP has a new campaign chairman who thinks the GOP can take back the House in 2008. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/08/AR2007050801924.html?hpid=topnews Of course, he does acknowledge that if things don't improve in Iraq, it could be a tough year for the Republicans. Ya think? "For us to lose more seats, it's going to take a catastrophic presidential election," he says. Well, fasten your seat belts; it's going to be a bumpy ride. (He might be your congressman, ivansmom--his name's Cole.)

Mostlylurking, indeed, during July and August the Pacific Northwest is breathtaking. (For DC locals, the weather we have been having the last few days is typical of Seattle in the summer.)

It should be on everyone's list of "things to do before you die" to take the ferry from Anacortes to Friday Harbor.

The San Juans are amazing. Where else can you see Orcas and be blessed by Franciscan Sisters all in the same day?

http://www.fsecommunity.org/centers/shaw.html

Mornin' all...

The dead "mouse" orbital sander has been laid to rest. Bean and I had a little ceremony and said a few Words before dumping it in the trash and sprinkling it with fresh sawdust. I wanted to play Barber's "Adagio for Strings" for the send off, but the CD player in the shop is on the fritz so we settled for Thorogood's "Bad to the Bone" on the radio.

The circle of life goes on. The other tools thought it was a bit soon ("Mousy's plug is still warm!"), but I went to Home Depot and bought a replacement anyway -- a brand new model with an ergonomic gel grip and much quieter motor. I'm sure the other tools will warm up to the "new" Mouse eventually.

Anyway, yesterday was also the magical and significant "42" on my sobriety calendar. No sign of Ford Prefect, but I think I did see a Vogon at the post office filling out an insurance form in quadruplicate.

Regarding Mudge's ideal place to live question: I've always wanted to live in Middle Earth (particularly Tom Bombadil's house), but a little stone cottage in the Irish countryside would do.

Hope you all have a great day...

Peace.

Salaam, martooni.

*smiling quite broadly*

There is never any heavy groping at the few BPHs I have made it too. I must be the human wet blanket.

Bad Sneakers, I hope everything continues to get better.

Martooni: Don't Panic.

The San Juan Islands are amazing. I need to get my pictures from my trip to the Pacific Northwest posted someday.

Lovely evening out for the BPH. I got there third and had a great time. It was nice meeting dmd. Ate way to much and had to leave early. I suspect mo is beginning to suspect something, as this is I think the third time I left just after her arrival. But I swear mo, it's just that three of my favorite shows are on at the same time on Tuesdays at 8.

Bad Sneakers, my thoughts are with you and friend. You too Error and martooni. You all hang in there best as you can.

yello maybe we need to take some pictures next time, just so we have photo proof that we're not making this stuff up...

I see on the news where OJ Simpson was refused service in a restaurant somewhere in this country. Didn't get the name. And the owner of the establishment said he was applauded for doing this act.

I don't uphold domestic violence or any violence for that matter, and I am not fond of killing, period. Yet I feel the OJ thing will never go away, and if we aren't careful it will be the thing that sets us on fire. No one, absolutely no one, wants their loved one abused, harmed, killed in any form or fashion, and that speaks to both races. If we go back trying to pick up old debts, there are too many, and they are all too, too, ugly. Let us not go there, but move forward with grace, kindness, and most of all love to each other.

Martooni, I've never met you, but on the boodle you sound like one stand up guy. Peace to you and to your lovely family. Don't try to keep that demon, you can never please him, give it to God through Christ. Peace.

Someone wants an engagement ring, Wilbrod? Are you trying to tell us some news?

I would check out the Tiny Jewel Box, 1147 Connecticut Avenue, NW.

Neat store with vintage and new jewelry. A lot of stuff you don't see elsewhere (like, for example, in the TWENTY-ONE jewelry stores in Tysons Corner mall).

On my way to the shower. Have to get started, there is much to do. Feel a little sad today, don't know why. Perhaps the things around me are at fault, but I suspect it's just me. I truly hope all of you feel fine, and that joy rules in your heart, and that your family is your comfort. God truly is good. Forgive my indulging your friendships, but it is a comfort in my life, and on this road I travel. Moving forward is never easy because we get attached to "our familiars", but we must, and I must.

Ivansmom, hope you and family are okay, and any that are being touched by this weather or fires.

Garrison Keillor has a nice piece on Obama, Thoreau and conformity in Salon at
http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2007/05/09/keillor/print.html

Royal protocol - Most people here don't know what the protocol is when greeting the royalties. For the muslims, they just follow the local tradition. For the non-muslims, they just stick their hand out for a hand shake and bend at the waist. Every year after the Muslim fasting month ended, the Sultan will open his palace to the public for 2 days. He and the male family members would greet the male visitors and his wife and female members of his family will greet the female visitors.

Couple of years back, I decided to go for the experience. We started on the ground floor which is level 5 to the palace people. There are 4 more levels below ground and that's were the royal family lives. The first thing they did when we got to the palace was feed us - buffet style, lots to eat. Then we were herded into a large hall to wait. And then we queue in 1 long line and wait some more. It's like being on an assembly line waiting to be processed. Nobody briefed us on what we should do or say. When I got nearer to the royal family I saw that some visitors didn't say anything. They just touched their hands and moved on. When my turn came, the sultan's wife already had her hand (ungloved) out so I just toke it and greeted her "Selamat Hari Raya". She thanked me. During the withdrawal of my hand and she extending her hand to the next visitor (did I say assembly line?) I hit the "rock" on her finger. It was a big "rock"! And she had too much makeup. On our way out we were given a box of assorted candies. The newspaper had pictures of the royal family shaking hands with the public. Their children had the looks on their faces that said "I don't want to be here!" I feel sorry for them. Sure isn't easy shaking hands with a couple of thousand people a day and for 2 days.

SCC : couple of hundred thousand people a day ..

Morning all!

BPH was great fun. We even got treated to a bit of Storyteller Tim. So good to see so many again. bc, next time you'll have to share some Richard Petty and David Pearson stories.

And it was hilarious to learn that TBG and I have the same hair stylist. And just last week I suggested this to her in jest! TBG, let's both ask her about global warming the next time we see her. Bet it's good entertainment.

Sneakers, I'm praying for your friend and for a new opportunity to open up for you.

rain forest, I would have sore hands and wrists the next day, for sure! But at least you got fed.

Curmudgeon, that Keillor piece was painful for me to read. I revere Garrison and Thoreau both, as artists who have visions and the ability to articulate them. I believe that when society is insane, to the extent that it is wrong, alienation is the appropriate stance. When Thoreau was in jail for refusing to pay taxes that would support an unjust war, his friend said, "What are you doing in there, Henry," and he replied, "What are YOU doing Out There?" Marching to the dominant drummer reminds me of Hitler, or Mao. But I understand what Keillor means, we benefit from a sense of our commonalities, and without that we don't have community. I just don't think we have to denigrate the rebels in order to celebrate our common cause.

=========
"My Aunt Maria asked me to read the life of Dr. Chalmers, which, however, I did not promise to do. Yesterday, Sunday, she was heard through the partition shouting to my Aunt Jane, who is deaf, 'Think of it! He stood half an hour today to hear the frogs croak, and he wouldn't read the life of Chalmers.'"
--H.D. Thoreau, from the Journal (March 28, 1853)

The San Juans, like Victoria, are conductive to nutty efforts to grow more or less tropical plants outdoors.

I'm still grouchy over missing an opportunity to spend a week at Friday Harbor. Looked like you could get there from Seattle airport without renting a car!

'Morning, all.

'Sneaks: I will keep you and your friend in my thoughts, as well. How's the restoration going? We'll never be done.

Martooni: When you wrote of the untimely demise of the Mouse, I thought of my circular saw. I keep trying to slice the power cord, as I'm not as careful as I should be when I put it down. The cord is butt spliced together in two places until I can get to Charlotte and visit the Porter Cable repair store. BTW, their profile sander is something if you have a need to sand older pieces that have eccentric geometry.

Slyness: Did you ever peruse Dilworth Books? I became acquiainted with the owner through his daughter, who was a friend of a friend of mine that was a DJ at WGSP, back when it was a R&R station. I miss that store.

Have you ever been to the Butchart Gardens DotC? I think I visited them 6 times. It's interesting all year long and much less crowded in early spring or in the fall. Most beautiful quarry I know of.
http://www.butchartgardens.com/main.php

Another quarry that turned up all right are the Reford Garden/Jardin de Métis in Métis-sur-Mer on the St-Lawrence River's south shore near Rimouski.
http://www.jardinsmetis.com/english/index.htm This one is for summer viewing though.

Let's see...if I were taking the quinnitukqut (the Conn), the last places I would want to sail would be the city that abuts the north coast of Panama, Colon (at the top of the G.I. "tract" that is the Canal). Nor would I have any interest in hopping the pond to tour the Bay of Salamis in Grease.

DotC, the other stupendous garden that is a hidden must when you go to Vancouver Island is Ronnings Garden, which is being recovered from the forest after being almost lost after Bernt Ronnings death in the late 60's.

http://travel.webshots.com/photo/1501873293041101657Uuxwfz

This very protected landscape on the northern island made it possible for these monkey puzzle trees to grow and give seed for decades without much care.

SD, I first salivated over those poppies a decade or so ago. Its on the list if we ever travel east by land. One day when we have accumulated 6 weeks vacation...yeah like that will happen, but one day we are going to take off and do it.

Howdy everyone. The rain has stopped for now and we are all in one piece and unflooded. However, I did lose a large elm tree. It was unbalanced anyway, and despite constant drastic pruning gravity overcame its instinct to stay in the waterlogged ground. The trunk cracked at the base yesterday and it just fell over. Ivansdad is spending many hours with the saws taking it apart to get it out of the yard. It was old, full of insects, and every year we wondered if it would last, but it was a good shade tree and I'm sorry to see it go. We lost the other elm to disease several years ago, so it is pretty exclusively oak varieties and one sugar maple now.

Bill Powers on how newspapers need a good publicist:

http://nationaljournal.com/members/buzz/2007/offmessage/030907.htm

FYI, I'm trying to finish my first Outlook story. I need to go back into the text and insert words like "notwithstanding" and "incontrovertibly." I need at least one reference to the Balkans and/or the Treaty of Ghent. This is pressure. I will try to post a new kit later in the day.

*snort*

Loomis said "abut."

:)

dr, DotC,
a hidden gem is the 4-Winds Garden near La Malbaie in the Charlevoix region. It is one of the largest private garden in Canada. In the pre-AC era the Charlevoix region was popular with rich Americans wishing to escape the heat of NYC, Boston or Washington for a few weeks. For exemple, President Taft's family had a cottage in Charlevoix. The garden was created by Francis Cabot in the 20's and 30's. The Cabots, a rich Yankee family, still owns it but they open their garden to the public a few weekends every year. All the places are taken for 2007 but they are taking reservations for 2008. I visited this very whimsical garden many years ago when it was still possible to buy tickets at the gate.
Virtual tour:
http://www.etpanorama.com/Cabot_Garden_demo/Cabot_Garden_Intro.html
Reservations: (Can't find an English site)
http://www.cepas.qc.ca/jardin.php

Good morning, all.

A wonderful BPH, as usual.

dmd, it was a pleasure to meet you; you're and a good sport for putting up with the ribbing we were giving you all evening. And you gave some of the guff right back to us, deservedly so. I hope you're having a safe trip home.

*Tim, after you mentioned your fascination with Yoopers and their lifestyles and accents, I'd been wracking my brain since last night to remember the movie "Escanaba in da Moonlight." The "Jeff" I recalled as the star of the film (such as it is) is in fact, Jeff Daniels (who also wrote and directed, as it turns out):

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0180679/

While somewhat uneven and simply bad in spots, it does have a couple of hysterically funny sequences, and a real affection for the UP. Anyway, if you haven't seen it yet, I'd recommend it for no other reason than to indulge yourself and have a couple of laughs.

bc

Joel... don't forget "nontheless" and "eschew."

When my husband was in grad school, we attended a lecture by a semi-well-known psychologist (husband's field of study).

When the guy walked in the room decked out in full psychologist costume (tweed jacket with leather elbow patches), MrG turned to me and said, "The first time he says 'as it were' we're outta here."

Joel - so "bodacious" isn't suitable for Outlook?

Or a reference to Evel Knievel's attempted rocketcycle jump over the Snake River Canyon?

Sheesh.

bc

You know, Bertooch, I was a little surprised Keillor came out so strongly for conformity myself. And I'm not sure Obama represents conformity but rather unconformity. (I tend to favor noncoformity my own self, as I suspect you do, too.)

LOL! My Mum and Dad were good friends for years with an art professor at the University of Alberta, and his wife. Some years after the prof retired, he and his wife actually foiled a bank robbery, and were written up in the Journal. As the prof later wrote to us,

"I was standing at the table filling out a deposit slip when I noticed a thin nervous man dressed in a black turtleneck and a grey tweed jacket. I immediately thought, 'this guy is a bank robber, or perhaps a philosophy professor.'"

Frostbitten - what an awesome idea! I think I will ask for that whenever folks from back east visit me.

Yoki - Hi! *waving both arms* My chosen handle:
AZ - since I am now a resident of the Valley of the Sun
Bluehen - I am a proud alumna (us?) of the University of Delaware, home of the Fighting Blue Hens

A newspaper's publicity (Word of mouth? Need for a publicist or spinmeister?) will take care of itself if the paper has credibility, built on a healthy dose of skepticism and transparency. These were the themes of the NYT's public editor and ombudsman Byron Calame in his farewell column last Sunday.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/06/opinion/06pubed.html

Skepticism, something I've found too often missing, needs to be nurtured and kept healthier at all levels of editing. While I have not been able to observe firsthand the culture of Times news meetings, it's my sense that department heads seldom challenge or question the enterprise stories pitched for Page 1 by their peers in charge of other sections. To the extent that this is accurate, encouraging editors at the meetings to feel freer to question or comment on the enterprise stories proposed by fellow department heads might make it harder for the next "too good to be true" story to land on the front page.

Transparency -- explaining the newsroom process and how specific decisions were made -- can engage readers and offers accountability that can build credibility.

Joel, I have no doubt your Outlook debut will be brilliant. My only concern is that people will see your byline and automatically assume that your thoughts will be full of wimsy. You need a wimsy free byline. Unfortunately, you are cursed with one of those names that do not have a serious analog. That is, there is no "formal" form of Joel. Perhaps initials? Maybe J.L. Achenbach?

Or, more sensibly, people will just have to learn that you are a man of many facets.

Best of luck!

Woops - just saw comment by yellojkt. He's right (and thanks for showing me the proper term to use).

I can think of only one way to bypass Wilmington. But I can understand why there are more ways than one to do so. I think the only reasons I ever went there was to volunteer at the Salvation Army and go to the Big Kahuna.

I had quite an adventure over at the National Journal website. They only let members read the articles, but you can sign up for a "Free Trial Membership" and they want a lot of information in return for that privilege. I filled it all out, trying in vain to leave a blank where it asked for "organization." I'm really not that organized, but they insisted that I fill in the blank. Also in detail WHY I wanted to have a trial membership. I suspect it would be easier to join the Masons. Of course, for $25 I could get a "day pass" that would afford me all kinds of privileges for the next 24 hours, but I'm not rich enough to think that's a good deal. Anyway, after I filled out all the information, I didn't get a trial membership after all, just a promise that someone would contact me soon (No! That's the last thing I