I don't like it. I don't understand how a list of items that will appear in Outlook is going to broaden the appeal of the blog. It doesn't leave anyone much to say. It doesn't leave room for recipes or flowers or puns. Even though I know that is what New Guy is aiming for, I don't see why.

I love the fat chunk, however.

Oh, and first!

And, apparently, only.

Yoki, you have to admit that with such a mishmash of topics, it would be easy to stay on-topic. Even inadvertently.

One, two, three, Yoki. Nicely done. You should be proud. I believe that's an Achenblog "First."

Jeez, Joel, I CANNOT believe you let the cat out of the bag about how newspapers really work. They have enough trouble gaining/keeping the public's fickle respect as it is, and here you go and blow it.

(Actually, when I worked for the Philly Inquirer when Walter Annenberg--may he rot in hell--owned it, it really WAS run that heirarchical way with input coming from the top based on advertiser's whims, memos from Annenberg's drinking buddies, rumors, random publisher caprice influenced by gamma rays and moonbeams, etc.)

I can only conclude we have been remiss in not driving page views higher in the Outlook section.

So new Guy is just trying something to up the count. Nothing wrong with that, just bidness. After all, it's hardly possible to enforce being on-topic.

And Joel, I'm sure they keep you in the Style section as a good example. You don't need to actually DO anything, y'know?

(repeat from earlier Boodle)

I think I need to include a few art museums on my vacation, whenever that is...

http://encarta.msn.com/quiz_260/art_quiz_II_quiz.html?GT1=10056

4/10

:-)

"Doubt, in effect, was eliminated from the conversation -- not as a matter of reason, but as a matter of public policy."

In other words, "damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead".

For some reason, this brought to mind an image of a flat-bed pickup overloaded with steaming manure, no brake pedal, no steering wheel, a brick tied to the accelerator and two monkeys playing poker in the cab while actively ignoring the flashing "CLIFF AHEAD" signs.

Just sayin'...

Hey martooni!!! *Grover waves*

Jes' sayin...

:-)

Here are my thoughts on the smorgasboard of topics above.
Bush resemblance: Nixon without the boyish charm.
Iran: Quote from Cheney: "Of course they don't want to fight us after they've seen the can of whupa$$ we gave Iraq."
Nancy Drew: One word: "titian."
Sicko: Haven't seen it; cannot comment.
Argument From Authority: I like the phrase "sources said." Of course you had a source! Didn't you?
Start with conclusion: Isn't that how teenagers frame their arguments for wanting to drive the new car cross-country, stay overnight at boyfriend's house, etc.?
Now returning to your regularly-scheduled off-topic discussion.

I added some boodle stuff to the kit. Boodle-mining I guess we call it.

First! (I mean, not *now*, but the other day.)

So, Joel, you "worry that readers will be dismayed if they discover the haphazard, dangerously small-d democratic nature of our business."

Here's the thing: we would be, I think, relieved to discover that some shred of democracy still occurs.

Maybe New Guy needs to sit in on a BPH.

Unfortunately, martooni, we're ALL on that flatbed truck.

Joel's still in the Style section because no one else is willing to sit under the stairs.

and Joel... Just tell the new guy that your blog is your own version of the Algonquin Round Table http://www.nea.gov/about/40th/images/algon.jpg

jeezy-peezy. 1:03 was me. And Hal told me it didn't post.

I admit I'm still not clear on the whole "Achenblog revision" concept or what change, if any, New Guy expects in the Boodle. Consequently I'm ignoring the whole thing. I don't know whether this amounts to Disqualifier by Identity, Reasoning from a Conclusion or merely Stuck in the Mud, but I'm happy with it.

//For some reason, this brought to mind an image of a flat-bed pickup overloaded with steaming manure, no brake pedal, no steering wheel, a brick tied to the accelerator and two monkeys playing poker in the cab while actively ignoring the flashing "CLIFF AHEAD" signs.//

And the whole thing started with "Hold my beer and watch this!"

Scotty, I also got 4/10. Got the first three and then only 1 of the rest. I'll blame it on the pictures being so itty-bitty.

*feeble/ashamed hungover waves back*

[-5]

Perhaps we stage a boodle burst. That is, we get friends to clicky, clickly, posty, posty, linky, linky, etc.

BUT we have to do this on days when JA posts in the old style. I think of his classic post-mode as free-ranging chicken-style on the open prairies. We go wide, deep, detour into canyons....a sort of "blue highways" undertaking.

If we post thusly on Outlook-obligato days, well, the New Guy will have his boodle-behavoir preferences confirmed.

Refinement to a boodle burst would be to get the Gen X and Millenials to post, rather revealingly of their coveted marketing-target status. That would require that those of us who have produced such vintage children herd them into the boodle brood.

Raysmom, I thought the picture size and quality were cr@p too. :-)

martooni, today is as good a starting point for a new count as any. One foot in front of the other, 'specially when we're here to lean on. :-)

Martooni-man!
Wanting to say the right thing, here. How do we help you be your most authentic self?

Side request: I would like to order a fairy door with something like Plutonium Storage inside, complete with a radiation symbol. Is the wood shop open for biz?

Amazingly I scored a 7/10. A lot of good guesses.

LTL-CA is correct that Ditto machines are spirit duplicators. The best-known manufacturer in the United States was Ditto Corporation of Illinois, hence that name.

> 'And the whole thing started with "Hold my beer and watch this!"'

... which explains everything.

We've got a dry drunk with a wet brain behind the wheel with Satan as his co-pilot.

TBG... to quote George Jetson, "Jane! How d'ya stop this crazy thing!?"

problem with question 8

Gianlorenzo Bernini is actually Giovanni Lorenzo Bernini or Gian Lorenzo Bernini.

Martooni, you stop now, by getting off the flat bed truck. Sorry to mix up the metaphor-post with your revelation-post but I, like, Scotty Nuke, and the others reading this now, offer a hand. And others reading later, will think the same thing.

That's a hellava lotta force. Feel the force, young Luke.

Stop: off to deliver bike to dear dot.

mr. joel: of course you're right about the canal being equivalent to the great wall. i have never known you to be wrong about anything.

I think we all have to realize that New Guy is a rookie, and has no clue yet what he's doing, but must be seen to be doing something constructive for the cause, so he wants Joel to pimp for the Outlook section. We just have to be calm and patient with the New Guy, horsewhip him a little when he steps out of line, and put him in his place. I figure about a year, maybe less if he's a quick learner and averse to pain.

Scotty and Raysmom, I too only got 4 out of 10 on that *&^%$ quiz. But I want to quibble over No. 4 and 5. I think the quiz is wrong when it asserts the name of the painting is Whistler's Mother. I picked Arrangement in Grey and Black," but having sone some research now see they were being waaaaay too clever, because they reversed Grey and Black in the proper title. Methinks that ain't fair. Second, I think they are wrong to assert, baldly, that Cezanne was a Cubist, and the painting in question was Cubist. First, everyone knows Cezanne started out as an Impressionist, influenced by Pissaro. Then he morphed a bit into his "mature" period, aka his "Constructive period." It was during this period he painted Mont-Sainte-Victoire something like 58 times. It was during and after this period he started to morph a bit again. He may well have been the "father" of Cubism and undoubtedly inspired Picasso and Brach, etc.--but I dispute whether it was accurate to call him a Cubist himself--and certainly NOT to use that particular view of Mont-Sainte-Victoire as an example of it. Bad questions, both of 'em. [But keep up the quizzes; I like them.]

Joel, they won't let you move upstairs and sit in the Outlook section until you start wearing bowties to work. I'd suggest the one you wore for the jacket cover of "Why Things Are II" (the one with you holding poor Yorick's skull).

Hey Martooni. We're here for you, and now is the time to climb back up on that wagon. As Scottynuke says, today is as good a day as any, and now as good a time. Y'hear?

Raysmom I am with you on the small size 3/10 and for not listening to a Law professor who when advising us before a big multiple choice exam told us never to change our fist answer (it is usually correct), would have had at least 5/10 had I not changed some.

Martooni liked the flat bed truck reference, reminds me of a story my grandfather used to tell of the Provincial Premier in his day at an election rally one time in the country he stood on the bed of a manure truck, and stated it was the first time he was speaking from his opponents platform.

I have no idea how original that quote was, but it always made me laugh.

dmd, a quick round-up of the national museums.
There is the Science & Technology museum, just outside the downtown core.
http://www.sciencetech.technomuses.ca/english/index.cfm Kids can go into locomotives, truck cabins, tractors etc.
If you go there look at the (huge) picture of composite materials printed on a pane of glass at the entrance; it's a metallography by Shrieking Spouse for her PhD thesis.

I like the Museum of Civilization. They have an Imax theatre but I haven't seen the current shows, Dinosaurs and Alps. The last one (Coral Reef) was unbelievably good. It felt like swimming with the fishies. The museum has a large section for kids with animators who provide some surveillance, games, etc. if your kid(s) are too young for real museum stuff. My kids enjoyed it before they turned into teenagers.
Here is this year's theme of the children museum:
Top Secret: Mission Toy
Canadian Children's Museum
February 3, 2007 - September 3, 2007
Calling all Toy Experts! Use your investigative and playtime skills at Top Secret: Mission Toy. Join us at Toy Central's International Headquarters, located inside the Canadian Children's Museum, to explore, examine and learn about intriguing toys from around the world.

Then there is the Nature Museum with its newly renovated wings. Part of the Museum is still closed because of necessary renovation (the building was sinking into the ground). It's very popular with kids in their Dinosaur phase. The new dinosaur gallery opened last year when Dooley and his folks came into town. A new Mammal gallery just opened. There is a good section for kids but the museum itself is a kid magnet if they are into animals.
http://nature.ca/nature_e.cfm

The new war museum is OK but it will bore the kids to tears. The National Gallery has a Renoir exhibition this summer, in addition to the permanent collection. They have daily programs for kids but I can't vouch for the quality of those. The Photography museum is closed for the summer due to construction nearby and the NG presents the activities that were supposed to be at the Photo museum
http://www.gallery.ca/english/default.htm

Young kids would enjoy the nature museum the most, I think.

If Joel's physically located in the Style section, could he end up writing an assessment of what sneakers are appropriate for guys to wear while cooking in the backyard, and/or sitting on the Great Ephesian Porch?

I just installed 44 20 x 20 pavers to make the front entrance to Chateau Coontie a bit less intimidating (a clutching jasmine bush was whacked and sent to the landfill), and to provide space for a proper place to sit under the house's overhang, previously monopolized by the clutchy bush.

So could Joel also write a story on proper porch seating? I kinda wanna get an expensive teak bench.

I'm feeling good about using yesterday evening to cut the grass, install a bit of sod around the new Porch, and build a bit of retaining wall for the new raised bed (i.e. surplus sand pile from building the Porch. Easier to build a wall around it than to figure out how to get rid of it). Against all odds, it's been raining all day today. Wonderful!

Martooni, a slip/fall is a one-day event. We want you to be around to give Little Bean away at her wedding. Keep that thought in mind and see what it means in reference to taking care of your health.

You know we love you and are grateful for your presence here. Please let us know what we can do to help you.

CP... "authentic self"... that's kinda sorta like trying to define what "is" is. Moving targets and all that...

The main problem with sobriety is that one has to *want* to maintain it. Doctors' orders, loved ones' pleas, supportive friends and family (real and/or imagined) are all motivators to stay on the straight and narrow, but they're no match for "self will run rampant". I would *like* to stay sober, but I apparently don't *want* to badly enough.

btw... the wood shop is open even though the proprietor is a self-destructive idiot. Inquiries regarding fairy doors, Adirondack furniture, wind chimes and other handmade doo-dads can be directed to sales@thehandyhippie.com.

What I want to know is how long will we call the New Guy the New Guy. I'm thinking Overlord? Lord and Master? (Trying very hard to get on the good side of the New Guy for those occasional times when I go off topic - like, maybe, he won't delete me)

I'm impressing the heck out of myself. I got 7 of the art quiz.

Kerric, runs with paper? Should I be afwaid?

for those feeling about the art quiz: http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/departments/education_1/?page=quiz123&Quizid=123

martooni... add me to the list of folks who want to say the right thing but just don't quite know what that is. But I've learned through my own troubled times that sometimes just saying anything helps.

So... we're here for you, my friend. I think you do want to. Just some days it's harder to want to, that's all.

oops, put the adjective that best describes your own feelings about the art quiz between feeling and about...

martooni... I also greatly admire your honesty. You've got that going for you, that's for sure.

9 out of 10 on that one. Missed the Marilyn Monroe quote.

Martooni, We love you anyway. Its sort of like the old saying warts and all.

'The force is strong in this one.' I don't doubt that.

The only two I wasn't sure of were the Marilyn and Gehrig. I told you all I'm a good guesser.

Dunno what this means: 7/10 on the art quiz and 8/10 on the quote quiz. At least I've read Civilization...

They were both tough, omni, because they both had pretty viable alternatives.

You mean question 7 and 10, not both quizzes, right...

And bc, what is the name of that book you mentioned Tuesday (or do I have to e-mail???)

mGreat headline on the Frookin column: "Put a Fork in Him." http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/blog/2007/06/29/BL2007062901157.html?hpid=topnews

martooni, just know that we're here, whether you *want* to or not.

Mudge, I'm with you on the Cezanne picture. He may have been a Cubist, but that picture was much more impressionistic. Of course, that wasn't one of the choices, so I ended up guessing. Wrong.

9/10 on the quotes. Had never heard the "fifty cents for your soul" thing.

neither had I but it just seemed to good to not pick that as the answer

Martooni like the others I am concerned and would like to help any way I can but lack any expertise. Perhaps it might help if you could convince yourself that you are worth it, not just doing it for Little Bean and Mrs. M, you have so much to offer so many people - you are worth the effort.

WaPo home page alert. Everybody comb your hair, straighten your ties, spruce up your desks. We don't want the New Guy to look bad, now, do we?

7/10, got Emerson, Marilyn and Gloria wrong, although once again on the Gloria quote I had changed my answer (guess actually).

Back to your question about the "new guy" our current government which bills itself as "Canada's new government" has been in place almost 18 months - so the "New Guy" has time.

8/10 on the quotes. To quote Was(Not Was), "I feel better than James Brown, I feel better now."

:-)

I missed Steinem and Emerson.

That was me pretending to be dr, have I mentioned I am ready for my vacation.

In re doubt and the current Administration's abhorrence of it -- I can't help it but it brings to mind Asneeze's line about Ahchoo in Robin Hood Men in Tights..."He's in need of guidance. He's headstrong and cocksure. Or is it the other way around?"

Hi Omni. The Mayor of Casterbridge?

Why don't you take the rest of the day off dmd. I'm about to leave myself, but then I've been here since 7.

One last thing, Shriek thank you for the museum info, I will have to thing about it, the more hands on the better and in the case of the little more indestructible the better, as long as there are "hot" boys to be scouted older one is fine anywhere.

Yeah, bc spoke to me on Tuesday...I know what not to do.

dr, dmd, whoever you are: one hopes that after eighteen month, New Guy is more well-liked than the New Prime Minister.

S'nuke: thanks for Was Not Was reference. Now I've got "Hello, Dad, I'm In Jail" playing in my head (and it's drowning out the CBC Radio3 playing in my earbuds).

Joel... don't forget to take New Guy on a snipe hunting trip. And remember, the best way to catch a snipe is to be alone in the woods after dark wearing nothing but underpants (boxers or briefs, let's not go there) while your buddies stand on the edges of the woods drinking beer and yelling "snipe! snipe! snipe!".

LiT!!! *long-lost friend Grover waves* :-)

Yer welcome, byoolin.

omni, the book I mentioned to you is "The Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Vol. 1."

http://www.amazon.com/Science-Fiction-Hall-Fame-One/dp/0765305372/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/104-0960835-3167122?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1183143606&sr=8-1

LiT, I did pass along your message to omni re. the Mayor of Casterbridge, and he said he'd wait for it.

Now, to try something on topic...

bc

"that after eighteen month..."

Woopsie.
J'ai pensé que j'étais Stéphane Dion.

Sadly Omni I vacated the office at lunch today - I am still a little stressed from taking my dog to the Vets, he was not amused by the needles, to put it mildly.

byoolin, don't get me started on the PM.

Looking at my Google ad, I wonder if The New Guy has some other ideas in store...

Tradeindia
India's Largest B2B E-Marketplace
www.tradeindia.com

That dang Wiki is such a know-it-all.

Here's the Wiki take on snipe hunting (notice, though, there is no mention of underpants): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snipe_hunt

You folks need a nice tune cootie to enter into the weekend. Here it is: http://youtube.com/watch?v=x5rDRXEunJM

To those of you leaving early (on a hot Friday afternoon? who would do such a thing?) have a nice weekend.

Gotta run, kids.

That'll give me time to Doubt myself before I post again.

bc

Does the US take a longer weekend, or just the 4th? I really do need to know. We have a business in here that operates US days. You never know whose boss is going to ask me about it.

I'm sneaking out early, but it's an approved sneak out. We usually don't talk about our non-approved sneaking out policy when the boss is around. There are cars to pick up and heads to 'roll' so to speak. (Really. Going to the taxidermy place)

I'll sign off leaving all Canadians with this tune cootie:

Caaaaanaadaaaa
Weeeeee love theeeee (rpt)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada_(song)
down to the Real Player - English version, you'll know why this becomes a tune cootie.

Raysmom? Ivansmom? Somebody's mom asked what I thought of Miyazaki, and I have to say he's pretty small on my radar. I'm a classics man. My Desert Island Directors List would start with Kurosawa, Hitchcock, John Ford, David Lean, Fellini, Fritz Lang, them old guys. The last really good Japanese film I saw was "Twilight Samourai." I'm currently on a French film noir of the 50's and 60's jag- Jules Dassin, etc. In modern films I find it very rare that writing, acting, and directing come together as equal components in telling a story or even creating a mood. Even when you seem to have all three in abundance, the presence of a "star" can skew the whole project- "Master and Commander" is a perfectly good example. When they made "L.A. Confidential", Guy Pierce and Russell Crowe shared the screen as equals, but by the time he made "M and C", the Crowester was too big for Paul Bettany and the flick is a star vehicle for the actor playing Captain Aubrey instead of a story of too equally appealing and equally complex characters, the captain and the doctor.

In honour of Canada I give you the new spiffed up CN Tower, free of ice and all pretty with new lights. Hard to think this is the same conservative, staid, bland Toronto of my youth.

It is long though,

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7786966638521949711&q=cn+tower+lights&total=28&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=8

dr... HOW COULD YOU!?!

I must say, it's quite the cootie d'air!

Have a great weekend and Happy Canada Day!

Joel - gently explain that to mess with your blog too much is to risk inciting a cyber-riot. And nobody wants one of those.

martooni - we are all pulling for you.

Mudge, oddly, although I can receive e-mail here, I cannot send it. When I get back I will send you some similar anecdotes you might enjoy.

RD... use your ISP's web-based email and you should be able to send mail.

10/10 = "Museum Maven" on the art quiz.

Hey RD! How was the beach? I can only imagine what sunlight must look like, or sand feel like. Water, I have no problem experiencing. I may have told y'all it is raining here. . . I can't really believe we'll have a show tonight, and last night's was rained out. Midsummer Night's Dream, don't y'know, with the Boy & Ivansdad. Here's a laugh -- it is at a "Water Stage", surrounded by a moat (the actors cross bridges to enter, and there's a boat entrace too). They assure me the moat has a drain so the stage won't flood.

I asked about Miyazaki, Kurosawaguy. Ivansdad is a big Kurosawa fan too. We've all been very impressed with the Miyazaki films, which are all very beautiful and tend to be pretty dark (with a couple of lovely lighthearted exceptions).

TBG, have you checked the meanmommy blog today? The regulars over there are having tongue-in-check psuedo arguments on all the standard hot-button topics.

Hi RD!

Like RD, I will be traveling for the next week. Going to Mom's to help her catch up on her gardening. I will come back thoroughly exhausted, no doubt. Unlike RD, Mom doesn't have internet and I don't have much hope of a WiFi hot spot in her sparsely-populated locale. Only hope is going to my brother's, but I'm sure I won't be able to use it enough to keep up. Maybe a drive-by or two is all. Take care all.

9/19 on the quote quiz. Missed Lou Gerhig, said "in baseball."

9/10 (not 9/19) on quotes.

And that is why it's so good to see you again, kurosawaguy. No one knows movies like you do.

M and C was dissappointing and I've never quite known why. You are correct, the star power got in the way. And yet, A Beautiful Mind does not leave you feeling that way. Possibly that is because Bettany's chrachter is only an offshoot of Crowe's, but just wondering what you think.

Well, I remember seeing "Totoro" and "Mononoke" but have only vague memories of both. If you like Kurosawa, you should seek out "Harakiri" from the early 60's directed by Kobayashi and starring the wonderful Tatsuya Nakadai, who was a Kurosawa fave- the punk from "Yojimbo", cop from "High and Low", king from "Ran". It is very powerful, very Japanese examination of the nature of truth and honor.

Thanks TBG! Now I am, like, really dangerous.

Yojimbo is one of my favorite movies, but it is one of those movies that has to be watched in its pure form - no subtitles and in the proper language. Personally I will only watch with subs to get through the more complex wording as my base understanding of the language is, well, poor.

Master and Commander is what it is in part for budgetary reasons. Weir and the writers chose to cobble together plot elements from at least two of Patrick O'Brian's wonderful series of 20 novels and place most of the action at sea and in single ship battles to keep down costs and eliminate location shooting. They also changed the adversary from an American ship to a French one to make it more palatable to American audiences. In making these choices they also short change the doctor's character enormously. Here are a few of the things you don't learn about the doctor from the film- he is an expert shot and swordsman and a deadly duellist, he is the illegitimate son of an Irish father and a Catalan mother, he is hopelessly in love with a beatiful woman who sees him only as a friend, he is an opium addict (later cocaine), he speaks many languages fluently, and he is a spy for British Naval Intelligence, in the course of which he occasionally kills his enemies in cold blood and dissects them.

The "authority" on journalism who wrote "It's probably not wise to start with a conclusion and then start working through your argument," does not appear to comport to the Scientific Method based on hypotheses. The test of the argument may refute the conclusion, but it cannot be argued and tested unless it is first identified. The classic which came first, chicken or egg, resolution would posit an Intelligent Design theory of journalism.

>Thanks TBG! Now I am, like, really dangerous.

Yeah, like you're not dangerous enough as it is. :-)

"Johnny Canal," the SNL skit, had a little tune/song they worked up. It's cootie-ing me now. Johnny Canal proposed an interstate system of canals, actually a two "lane" system, so barges could go both ways. Whoever pointed out the flaws in his grand vision, he answered their argument with death threats.

Martooni, perhaps if you followed a path that always led to dinner, the suds would not seduce you so. Schedule a rendezvous with pasta at 8:00, and don't be late. If you are gonna self-flagellate, either use an actual whip or refrain altogether. Be assured no one here thinks you deserve the lash.

I deserve the opposite: Applause - I used cootie as a verb.

Aha! Jumper... now we know where JA got the idea for his book The Grand Idea. The guy in his basement is really Johnny Canal.

Governor: So why do they call you Johnny Canal?

Johnny Canal: Well actually that is an interesting story. My real name is Jonathan Canal. How they got Johnny I'll never know.

But Shiloh, a "Conclusion" is different from a "Hypothesis," no?

Where'd you get that, TBG? I thought I was good at Google but it eluded me... Thanks.

:-( Suskind axed.

Pomfret is the New Guy's name? Sounds like fried potatoes (pomme frit), if you ask me.

I really would like to tackle Disqualifier by Identity as regards Science Tim's relatively recent post about Chris Hitchens, but won't presently.

This post is short by necessity. Loomispouse is now sleeping like a baby rather than coughing his brains out. I'm hoping he'll be back at work Monday.

Martooni is right. Several years of affiliation with Weight Watchers--both as a member and employee--made the lesson evident: the desire must come from within.

We had 4.15 inches of rain yesterday in the morning. The biggest photo today in the A section (not the one on the front page) showed a creek flowing under a roadway about 2 miles from us. Normally all one sees is dry limestone creekbed. The picture showed the creek almost up to the bridge, about three times the width of the limestone bed itself, a roiling, bubbling, wild cauldron of hissing, insane turbidity. I was out driving around in the storm yesterday morning and it was dangerous. Luckily, we are drying out today--so far.

We bought our very first DVD last Saturday--Hawmps. While Loomispouse has been home fighting the crud, we watched it. 1982. Comedy. B-list actors. Stock barroom brawls, stock shoot-outs, stock jail break, stock bad guys, stock good guys, stock guy-gets-the-gal, dumb jokes. But as advertised (I won't say by whom yet), there are GREAT camel racing scenes.

The storyline really twists greatly the story of the Texas Camel Corps. An Italian-named actor plays the Arab Hi Jolly, with a heavy British accent. Texas' Camp Val Verde becomes Fort Val Verde in the film. It's filmed in the deserts of Arizona and California, instead of Texas, by the same director who did Benji. There is a Great Race of camels vs. horses from Fort Val Verde to Dos Rios. Could that be Bob S.'s Del Rio?

The film will figure into by telling of the camel tale, hopefully on Monday.

Jumper... pasta sounds like a good diversion, but I'm going with hot Italian sausage smothered in peppers and onions for tonight. Oh... and fresh baked deli rolls.

As for the self-flagellation, I try not to be so hard on myself (I am aware of at least one or two redeeming qualities that sometimes surface) but poets and musicians (especially no-name dabblers like me) seem to have a tendency to enjoy beating themselves up at every opportunity. It's like you're not happy unless you're depressed and feel like a pile of bat guano.

So it goes.

My suggestion to New Guy: "if it ain't broke, don't fix it".

Jumper... I was disappointed that was all I found from that SNL sketch.

Problem is there is apparently a Latino singer named Johhny Canales who seems to dominate the Google hits.

> 'But Shiloh, a "Conclusion" is different from a "Hypothesis," no?'

Joel, that's what they call "pre-9/11 thinking".

I guess everyone's out picking up their iPhones.

Martooni, why don't you write a guest kit about what you're going through. Maybe we could muster a lot of positive vibes in your direction. Surely that couldn't hurt. And sometimes writing through an issue can be clarifying and help with the "want to."

Email me at achenbachj@washpost.com

Or call me at my desk sometime, 202-334-7261.

Everyone have a great weekend!

Conclusion is a synonym for hypothesis, q.v., and not necessarily a result or effect. The Cheney conclusion that Iraq was involved in 9/11 is a (susbsequently disproved) hypothesis that had an affect on immediate post 9/11 thinking - and resulted in a "war by intelligent design."

Shiloh shouldn't that be war by unintelligent design?

Thanks for the menu cootie, Martooni. I rummaged in the freezer and found some Italian Sausage (mild); green Bell peppers and Vidalia onions are on hand and a baguette of bread is being readied for a garlic butter basting. This hypothetical feast will be a welcome conclusion once the elements are prepped, cooked, blended and consumed.

Well, finish for the week, and looking forward to the coming week. I'm off!

Martooni, as a person that suffered badly with the problem you are trying to deal with now, I can only say that prayers and belief in Christ pulled me through. You got to give to Him. Just let go, and say, Lord help me. And I am praying and cheering for you always. Martooni, you got to love you.

Ivansmom, I had to laugh at your comment in the last kit about the two girls cutting their hair and Ivansdad saying they don't pay teachers enough. I've been saying that for years. I love working with children, but let us not be fooled, it is most certainly WORK.

JA, I laughed when I read this kit. I like your style of writing. You make it sound so easy.

Have a great Fourth of July!

More pointedly, dmd, Iraq can be characterized as war by "intelligence design," but intelligent design suggests that the war was a done deal, a created - not an evolved war, even before 9/11, which became the event that provided the "Cry Havoc" rationale that let loose the neocon dogs that were already in the kennel.

martooni--
you're so brave in sharing your personal struggles. A quality that rises above any other perception. Don't worry, there is no judgement in this safe little space. Even lurkers like me have been following your story. And we're pulling for you. You can do this. You can do this. You can do this. Your honesty is, well--sobering.

martooni, you are good at writing--poetry, prose, music. I think you should take Joel up on his suggestion.

You are not alone in this struggle. As you are aware, several people in the boodle are more or less on top of their version of it. Many more remain in denial of one kind or another. It's not black or white, yes or no, win or lose. We're all trying to get by and we make choices. Some we can be proud of and then there are those other ones. I think of you every day, buddy, and it's in conjunction with my own attempts to do the right thing. Proving over and over what the Bible says, we all fall short. All of us. But life is beautiful anyway. A world that contains Little Bean, for instance, that's a world to be grateful for.

You have given us the gift of your trust--thank you for that. Hang in here and keep in touch.

<3

martooni, just make sure none of that Outlook sausage stuff makes it into your sandwiches, K? Makes for a whole lotta chewin, yanno.

:-)

kguy, great to see you repeatedly today, and I KNEW there was a reason I didn't get excited about M & C. Thanks for succinctly summarizing it.

6/10 on the art quiz - there is no right answer on #5.

10/10 on the quote quiz

Hang in there, Martonni. Be careful with those negative numbers. Have you read this article about David Feherty? http://www.golf.com/golf/tours_news/article/0,28136,1578400,00.html

6/10 on the art quiz - there is no right answer on #5.

10/10 on the quote quiz

Hang in there, Martooni. Be careful with those negative numbers. Have you read this article about David Feherty? http://www.golf.com/golf/tours_news/article/0,28136,1578400,00.html

Gesundheit, pj. :-)

Aarrgghhhh.

It's Speak Like a Pirate Day already??? :-)

I'm happy to report that it is not raining. They might get in a full show tonight (Midsummer Night's Dream), though I decided to sit this one out at home.

Joel, it is splendid of you to offer the prospect of a Martooni guest kit. It is nice for us, as Martooni is an interesting and funny writer. It is nice for you. It is nice for Martooni, who gets the chance to work through things on "paper" and be "published", which will encourage him to do a good job. On top of it all, the offer is both civilized and humane, both characteristics which are hallmarks of the Kit & Boodle.

I think New Guy just needs to chill and hang out here awhile, and get a feel for the neighborhood. He could even post, though he might want a disguise rather than NewGuy. If he's interested in numbers, we could each introduce a real-world person to our imaginary friends. Or the lurkers could post. C'mon, lurkers, one post each for New Guy!

Yoki! I'm so excited!

Cutter's DNA tests reveal a primary Berner background (50%+, who knew?) and secondary collie/shetland sheepdog. And some shih-tzu way in the background.

That isn't what you, dmd and TBG thought I was going to write, is it? :-)

Wow, dbG, a Bernercollieshetsheepshih! That's rare, huh??

:-)

No, it's Type Like Captain Hook Day, scotty.

Almost as rare as the McKenzie Snooter Hound, S'Nuke!

Actually, I'm happy on several different levels.

(1) I know the breeds my long-time friend hails from now, and it's really nice to know. The collie I'd figured out, but it's as if he's completely surprised me with the Berner. It's nice when your old friends can still surprise you.

(2) His chief breed is Berner, a breed rescued and beloved by one of my excellent imaginary friends.

?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????-just typing like Cap'n Hook.

Ouch! kurosawaguy.

It rained hard for a minute then stopped. A mere bagatelle.

Dare one say, a meteorological frippery.

kguy, great post about movies earlier. (Sad to say, I read it at work and can't quite remember what it said, but it was a distinctive kguy post!)

Joel, what a generous and caring offer to our friend Martooni. You set the tone for the Boodle, and it's a wonderful thing. (Too bad it goes downhill from there - no, I'm joking!) This is a nice refuge from the usual Internet forums, and we thank you again for it. You need to set that New Guy straight - which I'm sure you will do in your own way. (I'm looking forward to the Supremes story, btw, so I hope it's for real. Ooh, baby, baby...)

It's been raining like heck here, then sunny, then raining like heck. Not so unusual for us, but torrential rain is not the norm. It's nothing compared to OK and TX, though. Hope you all stay safe and get some relief soon, and the places that need rain get some. Goodness!

I'm sorry I missed the Democratic forum last night (it wasn't actually a debate, I guess). It slipped off my radar, and it was on so early for us left coasters that it was over before I knew about it. Sigh.

Here's a link to the local reaction to the school desegregation decision:
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/321632_race29.html
I have mixed feelings about it. I'm for attempts to balance schools racially, but it's such an emotional, divisive issue. At this point I'd like to see real efforts to improve all the schools. Somehow that doesn't seem to happen even though people give that option lip service - but I'm hopeful.

Holy guano... I step away to do some yard work and Joel suggests a possible guest kit, bravely posts his office phone number, and the not-so-imaginary Boodler Support Squad leaps into action.

I'm humbled and amazed and surprised and humbled all over again all at once.

All I can say is I'll give it a shot.

pj, that artcle was fantastic, I have enjoyed David Feherty's comments during the tournaments but never knew his story, thanks for the link.

Yea dbG

Awesome! A Martooni kit.

That was pretty brave of JA to post his number.

Long day here in the forest, but luckily punctuated with some rewards. Two does and their progeny have started to feast on our lower meadow. This is a good thing as we have been reclaiming the once sunny patch from some invasive sumac imported from Colorado. It was too dry to burn last spring or this and I was going to have to fire up the gas powered trimmer, with metal blade not wimpy strings (note instance of a female characterizing something as wimpy). Much more rewarding to watch the deer.

I did manage a little fun by constructing an ant barrier for the hummingbird feeder using only embroider floss, a pocket knife, water bottle and water. Might change my garden alias to Gertrude MacGyver.

Back boodling like crazy, but wanted to say hello before fondue.

Cassandra-kickball rocks. Worth the strains and pains I'm sure.

pj... I'm not a golf fan and never even heard of David Feherty before you posted that link, but wow... replace the names and a few minor details (I'm obviously not a successful golfer or golf commentator)... just wow. The resemblance of our stories (as in mine and his) are uncanny.

Martooni, I'm thinking of you and praying for you. I was an expert at self flagellation when I drank, there was something very comforting about it. Now I know that it was a perverse sort of egotism, I had an advanced degree in wallowing in depression. Of course it was just another excuse for me to drink. You know what you need to do, don't wait too much longer to do it. Great idea about a guest kit Joel, Martooni writes so well. Joel, you are a truly nice guy.

I knew I should have refreshed before I posted. Way to go Martooni. And boy, the Ferherty piece was amazing. I think I've heard him during golf matches but had no idea of his history. Depression is such a factor in alcoholism, both cause and effect.

Martooni, we are always praying for you and Error. We hope the good vibes will impact you both in a positive way.

Boodling from Ica, Peru now. Staying in a new place, a little hotel that has its own bodega where they make wine and Pisco :-)

Went to the beach today, saw a place where an oyster bed had grown, then been buried by a landslide made up of chunks of basalt and granite, then a new oyster bed grew on top of it. Have no idea when all this happened, but it was sometime between 15 million years ago and 55 million years ago--how's that for shotgun accuracy?

I am my own topic.

Give or take a few million years, eh?

Sounds cool, Dooley. Glad you're having a good time!

Dooley, you are your own topic, for sure! (As are we all.) Good to hear from you - from Peru! Vaya con queso.

Martooni, if I may be a contrarian. We cannot help you. You have to take ownership and responsibility over your own life. We all care for you, deeply; you are obviously a good person.

MOST IMPORTANTLY: don't get down on yourself. This is the best advice I can give anybody, especially people who feel they have let people down in the past. Generally, we all are way too hard on ourselves.

News Bulletin: everybody on the planet, other than complete narcissists who could care less about others, feel they have let people down, especially the people they care about the most, and fret about it, if not incessantly, enough to keep the supply of Prozac and its ilk flowing freely today.

It is almost a perverse effect of civilization; we need people to observe social morals but the drive to do it leads to neuroses (or worse) or destructive behaviors because of the pressures it creates.

Read Ironweed by William Kennedy and consider the redemptive effect of finding a purpose to move forward even when there seems to be none to be found.

Also, listen to Cassandra; the Lord has given us grace to allow us to forgive us of our sins and to find fulfillment and purpose in our lives and share that with others. And I am not ashamed to say that.

I cannot endorse a complete abandonment of Argument from Authority, nor a complete abandonment of Disqualifier by Identity. The advance of science depends on these things, tempered by wisdom and experience. I frankly don't have time to explore every axiom, proposition, and bit of received wisdom on which my own work depends. So, I accept a lot of "facts" which are given to me -- for example, within the annual presentation of fudnamental physical constants that is published in Physics Today -- because they are logically consistent with each other, they are shared in common with a lot of other scientists so that we can speak in common terms, and because I accept that the metrologists at NIST know their poop. Oh, and because so far I have not encountered any persuasive evidence that these "facts" are in error at a level that is of significance to me.

And Disqualifier by Identity? If an individual has established a track record of misleading me and abusing my trust -- perhaps a long record of little things, perhaps a one-time record in a matter of great significance -- I have to assume that even those things that this person tells me that are factually true may have been carefully chosen or presented or edited or misinterpreted in a way that is aimed to manipulate me into an unwise decision. It happens in science, it happens in commerce, it happens in politics (well, duh). We use our record of a person's reliability to estimate whether there is any point in considering the content of that person's statements. If you are a known liar, it is not valubale to listen to you, regardless of the logic that your current statements may embody. It is, obviously, the Boy Who Cried Wolf. The problem with the story of the Boy Who Cried Wolf is that the townspeople, while distrusting the Boy (not Ivansmom's Boy) never established an alternative source of information on lupine activities and Ovine Safety Assurance.

We need to evaluate torrents of data every moment of every day. We would be totally paralyzed if we did not have some means of rapidly sorting information into categories such as important/not important; reproductively significant/not reproductively significant; likely to kill me/not likely to kill me. The initial categorization is not the end of the mental analysis in most cases, but it radically minimizes the range of all-possible-things-that-I-could-think-of that are necessary for me to ponder. If I find that my categorization and analysis fails to describe or effectively interpret my data, I may end up by revising my initial determinations, but that failure is still a valid part of the analysis.

All this explains why Weingarten's commentary on the poll of reactions to encountering a May-December couple was fundamentally unfair and wrong. He (and a number of his chatters) denigrated those who admitted that their initial reaction to a May-December couple was disapproval. "How dare they?" "Who are you to judge?" Well, who are you to dare to prescribe how I arrive at my judgments? The question asked about INITIAL reaction -- not reasoned analysis, but immediate response. Initial responses are, of course, highly judgmental, because they are binary -- does this situation matter to me, or not? Is this situation normal or not normal? Am I presented with something that is probably bad (but might be good), or am I presented with something that is possibly good (but might be bad)? Note carefully that bad gets an analysis of probability, whereas good gets only a test of plausibility. Good things that I don't understand are harmless and I can take my time, but bad things that I don't understand could hurt me or kill me and I need to make my decisions instantaneously.

Wow, so much to comment on tonight:

8/10 on the art quiz, 10/10 on the quotes.
I'm a little stunned that I have any culture whatsoever.

martooni, sir. Whatever it takes for you to get better, please do. We want you around here for a long time to come, as many have said. I wish I could give you some good, sage advice, but I don't really know what will work for you.

It may take some time and trying a lot of things to find what thing or combination of things *will* work for you, to get you back on the wagon and keep you there.

As others have said, Little Bean wants her Dad around for a long time, as do Mrs. m and the rest of us.

We know you can do it, just keep trying martooni. And take JA up on his offer if you're inclined. Personally, I really want to hear you tell your story.

SciTim: that 12:14 may keep me up all night thinking about my analyses of good/bad things.

bc

Burst transmission from dial-up land (Carl's place). Saw two bears and three dear and a deceased moose on the way. martooni, hang in there. SciTim, you mean data sets? >meteorological frippery - that has to be better than a meteorological furbelow. Out.

SciTim, has there ever been such a long post so nearly on topic? I'm impressed!

SCC - deer. Can't let that one slide.

()*^&*% we let ourselves down all the time. That's when strong willpower meets human nature.
Your staying sober shows strong will power... unfortunately it's also the same will power that kept you drinking when you know you shouldn't.

Emotions and desires are the icebergs of the soul. You never know how big they are until you get rammed by 'em.

That's why you can't depend on the desire to quit drinking all the time. You need something (or Somebody) stronger.

And to keep a strong hope that you will lose your desire for alcohol someday.

"(As are we all.)"

So true, mostlylurking!

I've been missing my Achenfix!

Martooni - if you write a guest kit, make sure you mention Joel's upcoming Outlook article!

Queens to Queens level 3?

Morning all! *highly caffeinated Grover waves*

martooni, I can only second what JA said; Writing things out can help a lot. Even if you never send it anywhere.

Busy weekend shaping up here! NukeSpawn's coming for a 2-week visit!!! *happy Snoopy dances* :-)

Off to clean the house!

dmd: After sleeping on your comment, I concluded that the "war by intelligent design" resulted in a "war of unintelligent design." The prepositional change validates both conclusions - but then it may have been the peppers and onions.

>We hope the good vibes will impact you both in a positive way.

How can you go wrong with good vibes from a rain forest?

You people are the best.

Shiloh, I am laughing.

Morning all lovely day here today again, brilliant blue skies, no humidity warm temps. It is my birthday today and since there is a holiday today I will continue my tradition of milking it for all it is worth.

Happy birthday, dmd, and many more happy ones to come!

dma: Best wishes for 11 days of celebration for you and Canada.

dmd

Nothing better than a birthday that falls on a Saturday, dmd. Happy day!

Dmd, Happy birthday! Many happy returns of the day.

Hey folks... long time no see.

Was talking music with someone and about folks who have somewhat unclear connections to the music that they play. I had an odd "once removed" thought about Joel and Joel's brother and Joel's brother's music which I can't match with Joel. I, knowing nothing of that sort of music, tried to google to place the name of Kevin's band and WHACK!!! I get a hit on ...

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/achenblog/2005/09/john_robertszzz.html

Not sure if anyone talked about this old boodle, but it was an interesting read.

Now that we know that ...

"Five is right out"

I was also very interested in a Joel's thoughts at the time. Now that we have a much clearer view of what Roberts has done to put Bush in power and keep him there, it is indeed interesting to look at our own words.

We now know how the election was stolen beyond what we knew at the time that some voters were being challenged and there were odd allocations of voting machines whereby a small college in Columbus might end up with more machines at their polling place than, say, Ohio State.

Remembering that Bush v. Gore suggested that Bush would have been hurt, if we actually counted the votes again. It may have been abundantly clear what happened. Roberts was deeply involved in that process for Bush.

We now REALLY know the impact of Joel's final words in that boodle. Hats off, Joel.

Martooni, for my sake and for others, please take up Joel's offer and write something. Will Power is something with which we all have our little struggles. Sometimes it is public and sometimes it is a private challenge. You are one of the most compassionate communicators here... I think you have much to share.

In your own way, you would be helping me and others. I am not here much, but I will keep an eye out.

Happy Birthday dmd!

Happy birthday, dmd!

greenwithenvy: queen to king's level one

Er, I think.

bc

The Potomac Nationals fell before the mighty hitting and fierce pitching of the Myrtle Beach Pelicans 6-0. Oh well, it was still a very entertaining evening. The MB minor league stadium is a delight, and puts that structure the Potomac Nats use to shame. Weather was nice, and I met a lot of locals. Many of these people spoke with such an extreme accent that I started to feel terribly self conscious about sounding, so, you know, Northern.

And although we greatly enjoyed the funnel cakes, I am not yet brave enough to tackle the "boiled peanuts."

Finally, of course, because of some well-timed strike-outs, we received coupons for free washer fluid as well as chicken wings from "Hooters."

I'm really looking forward to that washer fluid.

The President finds himself in the same position Lincoln found himself in - do you do the right thing when it is not popular or easy? How do you convince people that going a difficult way is the best way - even when you are not sure yourself? The problem is that his opposition will not say "We want the easy way." Instead they say "He is a monkey. Don't pay any attention to him for that reason." Or they say "He lied to us." when the evidence is that all were deceived. The President would not lie if he believed there were weapons to be found. We did find the weapons makers and tools. Saddam could have quickly made weapons when the time was right. So, the case against the President is a structure of half truths and deception. Why else would the political figutres ask "Why wait for September?" if they wanted to give our side an honest chance? Some want us to lose and use it for political gain. It was the same for Lincoln.

Happy birthday dmd.

Raysmom- have a great trip!

dmd... Happy Birthday my friend!

Dear Gary Masters - in the nicest possible way I would like to say - Baloney.
The vast majority of us who oppose President Bush and his Iraq policy don't want *us* to lose. Speaking for myself, I can't bear to see anymore Americans die in a foreign civil war. The case FOR this war was a structure of half-truths and deceptions and not one more drop of blood should be shed for a Commander in Chief who has so disastrously led this country for the past 6 years.

A letter to the editor in the dead tree version a couple of days ago said it best. "Why should we keep listening to the people who got us into this mess in the first place?"

Couldn't help myself there!

dmd - feliz cumpleanos! Enjoy your day. I almost always take my birthday off - it just seems like I should. This next birthday is so overwhelming that I may have to take a week off, probably in a fetal position.

Raysmom - safe travels.

RD - are you furtively boodling?
I love our minor league games here in Tidewater. Reasonable prices, stadium on a river with cool breezes, lots of local activities. A perfect summer activity.

Martooni - looking forward to a guest kit. We're pulling for you, I guess you know that. We hope you can get to the "want to" zone.

I think, Mr. Masters, that history will remember Bush not as Lincoln, with a mission to preserve the union, but as Bush, with an appetite for middle eastern hegemony and commercial empire.

Kim don't think of it as age but gaining character.

Happy birthday dmd!

RD-I'm sad to see you don't appreciate the charms of Pfitzner stadium. (Though if my wishes, and many phone calls to PWC commissioners, had been heeded the Nats would be playing in their new stadium already.)

pj-thanks for that link with the Feherty story.

After reading that, and knowing the challenges many boodlers face, it seems silly to be battling my own emotional storm front. A convergence of being away from Mr. F and Frostdottir and the demands of governing is making me blue. It helps just a little that I can rejoice over drowned ants foiled in their attempt to feast from the hummingbird feeder and I have pictures of my FL crape myrtle in full pale pink flower. Just right. But, once again I say the presidential candidates need to serve as mayors of small towns with no money as a test of their character and leadership skills. Today's distasteful task is to do a pre-rental check of the community center and direct the 85 year old woman who does the cleaning to scrub the toilets. She's been letting that go and we've had complaints, and not always polite ones at that. (I'm wondering if we should adopt a personnel policy that calls for retirement when your age is greater than your weight?)

Best to all who are fighting personal demons.

There is much more Nixon than Lincoln. We know ... maybe you don't ... that we had a Saddam cabinet member on our payroll before the invasion. The White House KNEW there was nothing going on. If you wish to believe the once popular myth, be our guest.

What they found was some of Rummy's old "stuff." If the military didn't take the WMD seriously, why should we?

It isn't about winning or losing. This isn't a game. This is about rightful peace. Thanks to some really ham-handed planning and a group of people in high places who had drafted a plan to overthrow and/or attack several nations in the Middle East, we have the mess that is Iraq today.

Well, I won't argue with you on one thing, Bush has a lot of guts. In my book, however, he is standing stubbornly and making one of the largest mistakes that American has ever made. I will grant you that he is exhibiting some guts to do that.

Judgment? No. Common sense, no. Listening to smart people? NO.

Courage is needed to listen to people who tell you what you don't want to hear. This administration has stove-piped its own manufactured intel and deluded itself into believing that Iraq made some sense.

Mr. Masters, we had a plan of attack (quite literally) before 9/11. As far as some people can tell, other than gutting most of the federal environmental and social agencies, that was all that they worked on.

We Americans have been awash in mis-information for 5 years now. It's time that you join those who have slowly found credible reports and data on what is really happening. There are now hundreds of books outlining what has happened from so many differing vantage points.

For a change, Mr. Masters, it wouldn't hurt you to do some reading of things that you wouldn't normally read.

Courage, by the way, would be to take on the thorny problems right here at home.

Courage is NOT caging the votes of black and hispanic soldiers deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan. That, my friend, is breaking the law.

DM so nice to see you back.

Many happy returns of the day, dmd. I hope you celebrate your heart out. I shall cut a piece of fresh cherry pie in your honour.

dgG, that is fantastic news about Cutter. It explains a lot, doesn't it? Like the extra-sweet temperament and pounds of fur that is shed every day. I am going to send you something to celebrate the Berner-ness of your old boy.

Martooni, hope you find your way. I hold out my hand to you, sir.

Perhaps #1 will join the Boodle -- I shall have to discuss it with her. I wonder if I really want her to, though. Hmmm.

Only got a second, so happy birthday, dmd. Later, dudes.

dmd, nice to spend time here and happy birthday. Miss everyone, but have to maintain some focus on tasks at hand.

dmd - it's good, it's all good...I know that age is a state of mind. I am fortunate and I feel like I'm young at heart, but dang....every once in awhile I just think > WHOA! how the heck did I get here?

oh and...Frostbitten, I'm sorry to hear you're blue. For what it's worth, it seems to me that you're really doing good things and I'm very impressed with your civic mindedness. (Is that a word? It doesn't look right)

Dept. of Non sequitors - just courting new hockey fans: Darcy Tucker is an undersized Leafs left-winger, and boy does he score goals and never fails to go small dog against big dog...Plus gotta love the GNR

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CGxcFfLiAH8

This will get pumped for Saturday

I'm pumped for the start of the FIFA under 20 World Cup. Hosted by Canada.

Good morning, friends. Happy, happy, birthday, dmd. Many happy returns on your day.

Martooni, I think it so great that JA has offered you a chance to write. Leap, jump, do whatever you have to, but write. It is oh, so, good medicine. And all the best, Martooni. I love you, and God, loves you best.

JA, you are so full of surprises, and helping Martooni is really great and a good deed on your part. I think it is wonderful, and I think you are a very nice man.

Getting ready to wash the g-girl's hair and endure the crying and screaming. My neighbors might call the police before I'm finished, I hope not. It is not a task I'm looking forward to, but it must be done. I need help.

Have a great weekend, my friemds. RD, the boiled peanuts I can't take either, and I was born and raised here. uck. Hope your vacation is going good.

Ivansmom, you're probably wanting dry by now. Hope you get it.

What's up, Mudge, Slyness, Scotty, and all.*waving*

P.S. Kids played kickball yesterday, Cassandra did not play, but watched and cheered from the sideline.

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

Meant to say earlier, that is great news Scotty. Enjoy the spawn.

Yoki, Vachement du foot - La fierté d'être hôte d'un tel évenément de sport... Vive le Darcy, mais aux poubelles Bettman et ses consiglieris

Loomis,
Now that you have a DVD, get "Little Manhattan". No, it's not Texas. For the grownups, "Best of Youth" (six-hour Italian miniseries).

Happy whatever, DMD.

Yoki! Cutter's telling me that Berners need steak and cookies to survive. True?

Text me for President!
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/29/AR2007062902352.html?hpid=topnews

The problem is it's very easy to underestimate how many people you'll tick off with texting. Right now, I'm not even sure I want John Edwards' 2-3x weekly e-mails. Can I sign up for the Reader's Digest edition?

My dentist just went electronic, and while the initial appointment reminder e-mail is okay, the texting reminder and other e-mails aren't. When I told the receptionist she said they'd just figured reaching their patients *every* way they could, simultaneously, was good.

Howdy! Not yet dry, but not raining (100% chance though) and we had a little sun. Happy birthday dmd! Try the boiled peanuts, RD, you only live once -- and you can always wash them down with beer. Hey, Dolphin Michael and Kim! Nice to hear from you, and nice explanations to Mr. Masters. Wanting us to lose indeed. Hmmph. Kim, I always tell people I wasn't even interesting until I turned 40.

This has been your random post for the day. Carry on.

On-topic, thanks to ScienceTim for the discourse on decision-making. Something like that was sloshing around in my head but I hoped that someone more articulate than I would express it, and you did. Thanks also to Dooley, his own topic.

Probably a good move to stay away from the boiled peanuts, RD. They are terribly addictive, and I'm not kidding about that!

Ivansmom, I can relate. We went all day yesterday without rain, then had a doozy of a thunderstorm at 10 p.m. Woodland Cottage is on a gravel road and we are having issues with washing. Today all three homeowners got together to discuss solutions. You would know that the one who owns three houses that he rents isn't interested in putting any money into fixing it. We'll see if having him scrape the roadbed and putting down a load of gravel will work. (NOT!)

Ivansmom - I'm hoping for some more sunshine for you. We had a doozy of a storm here yesterday evening, a lengthy, drenching rainfall and quite frightening lightening. I guess there's lengthy rainfall and then there's *lengthy* rainfall. We really need it here, though.

I was at an amusement park with my son, nephew and friend during the storm. I am not at all enamored of being out in those kinds of storms. It also kept me from riding Apollo's Chariot, which made me very sad. I love a good roller coaster ride.

Cutter is telling the truth. They also have a physiological quirk that requires a semi-annual cheeseburger (hold the bun and all condiments). Also, I've never met a Berner that didn't enjoy a nice all-natural vanilla ice-cream cone on a hot day.

Slyness, I hadn't read your post when I hit the submit button. Is doozy the word of the day? It's a simple word, perhaps scorned by some, but pretty much sums up a major thunderstorm, I think.

dmd, hope you have a wonderful birthday! DM, so nice to see you - was wondering where you were.

dr, I think it was you that asked about July 4 in the US, re: businesses. Most companies just give one day as the holiday - July 4 - and it can't really be moved to a day close to the weekend. If it is on Sat or Sun, then my very large corporation gives us the Mon or Fri - and there may be a time or two when they give us 2 days, if it's on Tue or Thu. Of course, a lot of people take the whole week off. I seem to always wind up working, and wondering why, because no one else is. I really should take July 5 off, because in my neighborhood the (illegal) fireworks go on (or should that be off?) all night long. I kind of dread this holiday, actually...

Kim, I chuckled when I saw your post. Yes, doozy seems to be the word of the day!

Hey, Dolphin Michael! Good to hear from you!

Mostly, in this part of the world, the thing about July 4th was that all the factories closed for the week. The mill workers, furniture makers, etc, had two weeks a year off - the weeks of July 4th and Christmas. They all went to the beach in the summer, so that was a week to avoid. Now that there are no more factories to speak of, not much of any issue any more.

We're having a lovely, sunny, warm, summery day here, so I hope better weather will be on its way east.

I watched the Dem forum "rerun" on PBS last night - pretty good. Hillary did well, as did Edwards and Obama (hard for me to find fault with any of them, actually). I get the Edwards spam, usually delete it, but I went ahead and contributed a very small amount because of the Ann Coulter dust up, and because I liked what John said in the forum. Let the spam deluge begin!

mostly, if it's any consolation, I will be working the 4th this year. Sigh. I've just had 2 weeks off, but I still don't want to work the 4th.

Received wisdom and knowledge by authority. I have been having to fight this for the last few weeks. There is a new lab guy who learned from the OLD lab guy. Their job is to plot 4 or 5 points, and connect them with a curve. The old lab guy, I found, cheated. Based on an idea that a certain funny-looking curve was impossible. Even after I found proof in several advanced texts, and noting that his formal procedures say nothing about "jimmying" the curve, he continued to do so. Because of this sort of apocryphal "wisdom" now the NEW lab guy is jimmying the curves in a similar manner. After I showed HIM the advanced texts and suggesting he quit jimmying the danged curves. Sigh.

It made me recall a thing by Feynman, I can't find it, I think about a generation of techs trying to verify Eddington's value for charge on an electron? I'll find it. But anyway, they kept getting a different value than the Great Man's, and they kept skewing their results towards his. Wrongly. Bad science was being performed for a generation because of wrong motivations.

Feynman:
"We have learned a lot from experience about how to handle some of the ways we fool ourselves. One example: Millikan measured the charge on an electron by an experiment with falling oil drops, and got an answer which we now know not to be quite right. It's a little bit off because he had the incorrect value for the viscosity of air. It's interesting to look at the history of measurements of the charge of an electron, after Millikan. If you plot them as a function of time, you find that one is a little bit bigger than Millikan's, and the next one's a little bit bigger than that, and the next one's a little bit bigger than that, until finally they settle down to a number which is higher.

Why didn't they discover the new number was higher right away? It's a thing that scientists are ashamed of - this history - because it's apparent that people did things like this: When they got a number that was too high above Millikan's, they thought something must be wrong - and they would look for and find a reason why something might be wrong. When they got a number close to Millikan's value they didn't look so hard. And so they eliminated the numbers that were too far off, and did other things like that. We've learned those tricks nowadays, and now we don't have that kind of a disease."

Is Feynman right in his conclusion?

Here's my contribution to off- topic posts. You must watch to the end.

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

Dave of the Coonties,
We've owned a DVD player for some years now. Having worked in high tech in Silicon Valley, we're not that technologically backward! *l* Loomispouse is much intrigued by the new iPhone, but those AT&T fees are steep.

We rent DVDs--occasionally, when the movie is good enough to warrant renting it. The thought of owning DVDs is abhorrent to me. One you've got the gist of the story on film, you've got the gist of the story. One viewing is enough--time to move on to other stories and plots. You know me, far too bookish and choosy in the extreme about what I plop myself down in front of as far as television and cinema. Picky, picky, picky.

My husband, raised as a latchkey child, can be entertained by movies and TV for far too many hours on end, IMHO. As can his brother and clan. As I've tried to convey, they are not readers.

We had "Hawmps" recommended, and there was no other way we were going to see this 1982 comedy unless we purchased it--so we purchased our first DVD disc--or film. (That may seem odd to the majority of people, but not to me.) And "Hawmps" really is AWFUl--targeted to a child in 4th to 6th grade, really.

So we coughed up the $14 for the DVD at Camp Verde General Store. Buying the DVD and some bamboo wind chimes (something I have actually wanted for several years now) seemed to be a nod or "Thanks" of sorts for the unbeatable breakfast invite, unbeatable because of the terrific company and conversation that we experienced a week ago Saturday.

I believe I've seen "Best of Youth" that you mention, D of the C.

We both saw "A Mighty Heart" last Sunday and I was disappointed. Nothing on the summer roster of movie fare presently tempts me much at all--perhaps Julie Christie in the tale that deals with Alzheimers. Not Bruce Willis, not Ratatouille, not Spidey, nor pirates. "Evening," which had an interesting looking trailer, is getting panned. Guess it'll be November or December before we spend any time at the local multiplex.

MSN I NIIPET
MSN

MSN I NIIPET
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MSN I NIIPET
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Kim - I think your response to Mr. Masters is a case when *you've* said it best.

And yes, I am furtively boodling here in the back room when I get a chance.

Frosty - Didn't mean to throw you into a funk by criticizing Pfizer stadium! Hope you feel better soon.

I think I will definitely take a shot at the Boiled Peanuts before the week is out.

But these things must be done delicately.

Jumper - I don't think scientists will ever be totally free of human bias. Too many scientists rely upon organic brains, which have all these weird subroutines built right in. (BTW - a similar story to Feynman's exists in the search for the cause of the Spanish Flu.) The solution is free and open communication between scientists. When people share the details of their research openly, biases are eventually revealed.

Kim, I commiserate with you having to work on a holiday - I've had to do that far too often. I spent a memorable 4th of July on the phone with a hardware vendor who had to come away from his barbeque. He was the extremely New Guy, so I had to practically tell him which part he should fix, and how (not exactly my expertise).

Loomis, I like bamboo wind chimes too. In fact, there aren't many chimes I don't like, although I suppose there are people who hate them. Chimes are used to such great effect in the movie Body Heat, I think. The DVD's I own are concerts, mainly. My husband has Godzilla movies and Star Wars, LOTR.

Question authority.

We've got an iPhone in the G house. Son of G bargained down from the top o' the line MacBook Pro for college to the one that costs $500 less plus an iPhone. I said yes.

Yesterday for grins we showed up at an AT&T store at around 6:30 pm (phones went on sale at 6:00) and got in line. We were about 40th in line. The line moved very slowly as it turned out that AT&T was going through the regular rigamarole of credit checking and activation. But of course we had fun talking to the other folks in line.

Then around 7:00, when we had moved about halfway to the door, they ran out of iPhones. They had been very secretive about the quantities there, which made no sense. They obviously had very few and should have just gone out to the line and said "you guys go home... we don't have enough iPhones for all of you."

If you think AT&T isn't the noncaring monolith it was pre-1984 breakup, you're wrong. They still don't give a hoot about their customers or potential customers ("We're the phone company!"). Why would you have only 30 or so phones in stock yet let 60 people stand in line? (They were only selling one per customer.)

So we went home and ordered one from Apple online and were told it would ship in 2 to 4 weeks.

Then today we decided to visit the Apple store at Tysons Corner. We walked in, walked right up to the counter and said, "one iPhone please."

I was out of there in about 30 seconds with the happiest boy in the world carrying the coveted black bag. Other folks in the mall carrying them would hold them up, give a big smile and a wave.

The phone was activitated via iTunes in