I'm astounded JA didn't bring up 'Mudge in the Cuneiform/Sanskrit discussion.

Scotty, that's 'cause Mudge had to do his work in the form of cave paintings.

G'morning, everyone.

bc

Ah, those fond remembrances of our pre-technological existence: basking in the sun, smashing one another's heads with femurs before retiring to the shade of the large black obelisk...

...Good times.

Ah yes, the dorms where there was one (rotary dial, with a cord) telephone on the hall for everyone to use...

Typo alert!
(In the para about the panel: "He told of us of the . . .")

So Joel was graduating from Princeton when I was graduating high school. I have my 25th high school reunion this summer. I have regained all 30 of the pounds I lost for the 20th. And I don't care. I've earned the right to be a little pudgy.

I have never been to a true college reunion because I would know nobody. My friends were scattered all over different classes and majors.

I took my kid touring the alma mater and the 1960s era dorm I lived in is slated to be bulldozed to become a parking garage. The 1930s vintage dorms with the gang bathrooms are dubbed "classic freshman experience" halls. Upperclassman get the suite style rooms with private bathrooms.

My son is an only child and I think have a roommate is going to be a rude awakening.

Oh wow, this sounds like heaven:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/03/AR2007060301155.html?hpid=sec-world

Mornin' all...

Ah... a fresh kit, a rainy day, a pot-full-o-coffee (my second) and a grumpy five year old who needs to go back to bed and try getting out of it on the "right" side. Life is good.

All I remember of my last reunion (not much) was that there was an open bar for two hours before dinner. I also vaguely remember commandeering a microphone and singing The Cramps' "Goo Goo Muck" a cappella. I sort of remember a pub crawl afterwards and getting a ride home in the wee hours from a friend and her husband, but I have no recollection of how I ended up with an old flame's nametag and phone number in my pocket.

In other words, I *think* I had a good time.

So it goes.

Well... it's still raining so it's looking like a workshop day. Got a fresh pile of lumber to play with and I'm thinking "Adirondack garden bench built for two".

Peace out, my friends.

(and today makes 70)

Will fix typo, and also any errant strains of illogic or unreasonableness.

Check back with the blog later this morning, I'll add some stuff.

"errant strains of illogic or unreasonableness"

You mean more than the usual?

Lookin' forward to hearing more about the reunion. Tell us about the jacket, please.

And how cool you looked rollin' up to the big party in a purple Hummer with 30 inch chrome dubs.

bc

I neglected to add:

martooni, bravo on 70 days, sir.
Bravo.

bc

mmmmmmmmm purple. I like purple, it is by far the coolest color in nature.

Joel... please don't fix any "errant strains of illogic or unreasonableness."

That's what we like about you.

On a completely different topic, today is the anniversaries of the evacuation of Dunkirk, the Battle of Midway, the Chinese government's crackdown on protests in Tiananmen Square, and it's Angelina Jolie's birthday.

Coincidence? You decide.

bc

Just about the only thing I've ever been able to memorize in my life:

The Bene Gesserit Littainy against Fear.

I must not fear.
Fear is the mind-killer.
Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.
I will face my fear.
I will permit it to pass over me and through me.
And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path.
Where the fear has gone there will be nothing.
Only I will remain.

The short version: 'the only thing we have to fear is fear itself'.

And the first stanza of Coleridge's Xanadu.

And didn't anyone read my June 1 12:30 PM post? The one that preceded Dave's 11:34 by eleven hours and 4 minutes.

Now I will back up and read the Kit...

Er, maybe I need a walk first instead. I didn't mean to say that Roosevelt quote is the short version, but rather that the litany made me think of it.

Also that the first stanza of Coleridge's Xanadu is the other thing I've been able to memorize. Which oddly enough I learned from a novel, not the poem.

People fold clothes? Why has nobody ever told me about this before?

"Lou Dobbs on acid" is now a googlenope. I was expecting it to become a googletwo, not a 'nope...hmm

Today is also my son's birthday. Now he has a conversation gambit when he meets her. I share a birthday with Cindy Crawford, she just doesn't know it.

Gom jabbars all around.

ouch.splutters.thump

I've been to just one high school reunion; I think it was my 15th. No college reunions, yet. I'm thinking maybe I'll go for the 25th, in 2009. If something better doesn't come up.

Busy weekend. Sleeping. Storytelling gig on Friday. Taking ScienceKid #1 to Roman Days at Marietta mansion on Saturday and learning about many of the clever ways that the Romans engineered for efficient homicide -- yet nothing about the Romans' perfection of Portland cement. More sleeping. Laundry. Vacuuming (thank you, Roomba!). Another storytelling gig. Everybody loves the story of Bruce (a Rapunzel parody). More laundry.

Busy, busy, busy. Today, back to work. Enough astronomy! There's paperwork to be done!

I share a birthday with Gisele Bündchen. Of course I'm old enough to be her father...

A colleague who hadn't attended his own graduation from a state university just went to watch his son graduate from Princeton. At a time when competition for undergrad admission to Princeton must be at an all-time high, could it be possible that the current generation of Ivy grads will be less influential/prominent than those from forty or fifty years ago? There's been such a vast expansion of higher education in the US that graduate and professional programs have plenty of feeder colleges to recruit from.

On the other hand, it still sounds a bit odd to hear of an investment banker who graduated from Penn State.

I enjoyed the kit Joel, I missed my High School reunion and like Yellojkt really wouldn't know a lot of people at my university reunion so have not gone back.

I have been to a few family reunions though, we where name tags there as well, thats what happens in large families!

For all the Python fans out there I give you one of the reviews of Not the Messiah, which premiered in Toronto over the weekend.

http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/article/220777

Morning!

Catching up on the boodle after a weekend of entertaining the fam'. Are we the only family who can amuse ourselves for over an hour with the kitties and doggies up for adoption at Petsmart?

Sneaks, Slyness, sounds like good fun.

I love Wilbrod's idea of a boodle-based television show titled Indecent Exposure. How about we come up with story ideas for episodes? Such as:

Fifteen boodlers meet at RFK. After being seated in the Upper Deck, row ZZ, TBG receives a call that a sixteenth boodler (Kim?)is on the concourse level, looking for the group. TBG leaves to retrieve Kim. After 20 minutes, bc is concerned and goes to look for the missing. Another 20 minutes passes with no sign of the missing boodlers, so Scotty joins the search. One by one the group leaves to search, ala teen slasher movie (complete with sinister violin music). The lone remaining boodler in ZZ (Mudge?) solves the mystery when scanning the field with binoculars. During the 7th inning stretch, the President's race with costumed characters from Mount Rushmore is replaced by boodlers running randomly around the field (think The Monkees) wearing assorted Grouco noses and tin foil hats. Sevenswans accompanies them with the sinister violin music.

I'm positive that others can do much better than this. Apparently I can only appreciate humor, not write it.

I added a couple of grafs to the kit fyi.

Raysmom, if we're wearing *nothing* but Groucho noses and tin foil hats, that's funny. Mudge wears a tin foil thong. I might have a tin foil shield, sword and helm (and nothing else but a liberal coating of olive oil), since I'm in "Gladiator" mode.

Then the security guys drag us all off to the holding pen in the dungeon of RFK, and it's like the last episode of "Seinfeld."

Only it's actually funny.

bc

Raysmom;

Of COURSE we amuse ourselves oooh-ing and aaah-ing over the eager wannabe adoptees at Petsmart! When I win the lottery they're all coming home with me! :-)

And that's a funny episode, it'd make a great pilot, trust me.

:-)

I am NOT, repeat NOT, wearing my tin foil thong to the Nat's game, no matter how much you people plead and beg, even though it is my "lucky" tin foil thong. I sunburn much too easily for that.

Laundry needs to be folded? It doesn't come out of the dryer that way? Who knew?

And what's the point of this high-tech machinery if it only does half the job?

Yeah, yeah, make fun of me during the Caveman era if you must-- but take my word for it, dating was SOOOOOOOO much easier back then. My prom date: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Raquel_welch_1millionyearsbc.jpg

'Survival: Maybe that's enough of an ambition.'

I like that, boss.

I can tell that I am going to have to go back and read the weekend boodling to understand
bc's reference to tinfoil thongs and gladiator mode. Then again, maybe its better if I don't.

Raysmom, I spent an hour in Petsmart (the one near Scottynuke's place, BTW) this Saturday with the kids looking at all the pets up for adoption.

They know to ask on the first Saturday of the month.

Don't worry Mudge, if you don't bring your lucky tf thong we can make you one out of a ballpark hot dog or sausage wrapper. And we'll figure out something to do with the excess foil.

bc

LOL!

Off topic (no?!).... My sister sent this joke yesterday...

God is sitting in Heaven when a scientist says to Him, "Lord, we don't need you anymore. Science has finally figured out a way to create life out of nothing.

In other words, we can now do what you did in the 'beginning'

"Oh, is that so? Tell me..." replies God.

"Well," says the scientist, "we can take dirt and form it into the likeness of you and breathe life into it, thus creating man."

"Well, that's interesting. Show Me."

So the scientist bends down to the earth and starts to mold the soil.

"Oh no, no, no..." interrupts God,

"Get your own dirt."

bc, that last sentence was unnecessarily and delightfully cruel.

Mudge, glad you like the idea of goin' Trojan.

bc

I gotta say, that was some humdinger episode of The Sopranos last night. But because of all the spoilers in it, I don't think we can or should discuss it very much. Dr. Malfi was a surprise. And I gotta say, I think when Tony got mad and dragged AJ out of bed and told him to pack a bag, the kid deserved it.

Hey, bc, I went Trojan when Priam ran the joint.

Mudge, now you made *me* laugh.

bc

I thought the term was Spartan

JA love the tales of the class of '32 gent...I was born when you were in college, 10 year high school anniversary coming up June

om, more of a "Kubla Khan" fellow here...some of the best opiate driven verses in the language

"It was a miracle of rare device,
A sunny pleasure-dome with caves of ice !
A damsel with a dulcimer
In a vision once I saw..."

Rare device, damsel w/ a dulcimer, just like Tori Amos, ahhh blushin'

Tune in NBC 2nite 8 pm for a gleamin' hockey match...

If The Wonder Dog hadn't already made it clear that he prefers to be an only dog, the one named Jasmine would have come home with me. (After the interview, home check, fingerprinting, full-body-cavity search, etc. of course.)

http://www.lostdogrescue.org/main/pets.asp

Took that Lit-Classic test:1984.

You are the classic warning against the threat of totalitarianism. To you, politics and philosophy are inseparable, auchtorities suck and the reality might not exist outside our imaginations.

10%

Congratulations on surviving your reunion in fine fettle, Joel. I went to my high school 20th several years ago, because I had an infant in tow for bling. He was adorable, and no doubt raised my stock considerably among my former classmates. I've missed both the college & law school 20th, purely for logistical reasons. I hope to make a reunion at one of my institutions of higher learning while most of my classmates are living. There's an ambition for you. It is always good to set the bar high.

From the Department of Non Sequitors, a recent statement has just been released...for all you Cubs fans, media hounds, inhalers of oxygen, and Will Ferrell fans, well...res ipse loquitor

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HkRUHugg8vU

And don't worry about that gaffe. Nobody know who their state attorney general is. He's used to it.

Speaking of tests, did anyone else do that lumosity.com thing that a bea c posted yesterday? My first score was 108: Average. Of course I could not settle for that and I went immediately into obsession mode yesterday afternoon. After 4 tries I got my score up to 134 but after that no further improvements. I'm just not genius material, according to them. (Evidently, their test is flawed.)

Thanks, a bea c--I'm sure my brain benefitted from the exercise.

I went to my 30th high school reunion a few years back ('72 - go Mustangs!!!) - I couldn't see any signs at the hotel as to which ballroom my class was meeting in. I peeked into the first room I came to and saw a bunch of grey-haired people and immediately assumed it was some sort of estate-planning, retirement type of meeting and walked on. It finally dawned on me that those grey-haired (and some bald) people were indeed my classmates. Holy bejeezus, some did not age well! I, however, am still looking FABULOUS!

My state's AG isn't Elliot Spitzer?

Turns out, no. But if his official bio is to be believed, he is a quadruplet:

"General Darrell V. McGraw, Jr., is the oldest of four sons born on November 8, 1936, to Julia Zekany McGraw and the late Darrell V. McGraw." (http://www.wv.gov/OffSite.aspx?u=http://www.wvago.us/)

Totalitarianism is not so bad in one sense. Some people don't have the word "yes" in their vocabulary. Let me explain.

Speaking of "totalitarianism" ( a moot mention in the stratoblogosphere, "wherefore are thou intersubjective commentary and widespread angling" ) - speaking of totalitarianism, the word "yes" is one version of the word "totally," depending how close one is to Half Moon Bay or San Diego...

Scene: surfside wedding ceremony

Q: "Do you take Tori Amos as your lawfully wedded wife?"

A: "Totally"

Now that's some good totalitarianism.

"Echo Mary Bravo" - ah, shall be the name of my first born with totally Tori...

That's obviously an SCC, there. "But if MY state's AG's official bio..."

I am unaware of whether or not Mr. Spitzer is now or ever has been one of the Dionne Quints.

kbert, I think I flunked the Luminosity test, because every time I try to click on the Start button, it disappears.

>Nobody know who their state attorney general is. He's used to it.

Possibly because that U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie fella is always getting the ink in NJ.

I did nearly marry a Deputy AG many years ago, she's now a judge apparently.

It was so nice of you to bring your daughters to "The Reunions" Joel. Almost as nice as the way Fred Thompson brings that young niece of his to all of his public appearances.

Raysmom - same thing happened to me. Probably just as well.

Raysmom, Jasmine is very beautiful. She's the Gia of St. Bernard mixes. You don't think WonderDog would change his mind over the course of a few weeks? Couple a' meetings at the dog park? :-)

(I seem to remember you volunteer(ed) rescue too?) I foster enough that my guyz are very blase when a new dog walks in the door. They teach him/her the ropes, and seem to know s/he will be leaving. And when one comes in that I want to be permanent, they know that too. I've put dogs in homes where the resident dog wasn't thrilled, it can take a few weeks to turn around, but a male/female combination seems to help (and I'm stopping right there).

Who's writing the pilot? You have to work in the dog peeps too!

RD, it reminded me of those birthday cards that don't open. I even tried refreshing the page and sneaking up on it. And slowly stalking it like Elmer Fudd.

Hopefully your daughters had a good time gamboling all over campus, Joel.

I'm tempted to make a joke about them winning money playing in some of those alumni poker games, but that would be too cute a pun, even for me.

bc

Joel you reminded me that I do remember going to my Dad's 25th reunion, I was the bling in that case.

dbG, I learned TWD's preference when I tried fostering dogs. He's not mean to them; in fact, he's a very courteous host and shares his toys. He just gets very sad and loses his spark. When the other dog leaves, he goes back to his joyous self. Yes, he has us fully trained.

Have I mentioned that when Raysdad travels, he brings a mini-album of TWD pictures with him?

Raysmom, sounds as if you're reading him totally correctly and with great sensitivity . . . I take cds with my pictures on them, so I understand Raysdad.

IIRC, SuperMan was an only *child* too!

I think you have to have pop-ups enabled for the luminosity test.

byoolin, I'm cracking up at the "one of a set of quadruplets" AG - ha! Well, who knows, it could happen.

So, Joel, was David Duchovny at the reunion?!? (Did he graduate or go on and become famous and successful before that?)

David Duchovny not only graduated he holds a masters in Englis Literature from Yale.

While obviously I don't

Good afternoon, friends. As one just dragging in from the laundry room, I can truthfully say laundry does not come out of the dryer folded, it is done by hands. Some guy came in this morning and washed his clothes on the rinse cycle in the machine that does not spin the water out of the clothes. He then, puts all these wet clothes in the dryer, lots of clothes, and the dryer does not work. He twists and pulls the knob trying to get the dryer to work, and eventually pulled the thing out. I finally told him, you have to put those clothes back in the machine and spin the water out. Now we have just one dryer working, and one washing machine. Some men should not go to a laundromat alone.

Anyway, I'm finally back at the apartment. JA, glad you enjoyed your class reunion, and it was nice that you took your daughters. I went to my high school class reunion, and it was okay. Everybody seemed real quiet, and some folks I just did not know, and that's not good. I've never been to my class reunion at the other schools I've attended nor had the desire to do so.

Great news, Martooni. *Waving to all the boodlers.*

The weather here is hot already, but it is so sunny and the sky is just clear blue. Have a great day, folks.

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

ALMOST EVERY man should not go to a laundromat alone, Cassandra... *waving*

:-)

Men...they think if they do their chores wrong often enough that they will be dismissed from ever having to do them at all.

When I read "...alumni from the classes of '07..." I thought WOW, he must be over 120 years old - and then it dawned on me; there may be a good reason I couldn't get luminosity to work, even with pop up blocker turned off.

Wonder if any Gators (Joel) have an opinion about mercurial Billy Donovan's about-face...

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=2892334

As a Big-Easter, happy to see the SEC tormented again by the repeat-offender (or is it champion?) Donovan

Is the Gainesville tapwater that much better than Orlando's?

It must be hard work refusing those dollars

Shiloh, NAH! I'm still impressed by your 3rd of June in the sleepy Delta recall.

Laundromat? What's a laundromat?

Yello, I think I roomed with an only child exactly once. What an UTTER pill who thought her feelings were the only ones that counted.

And I know a quiet middle child who nearly beat the crap out of his roommate... because the roommate swung at him, somebody smaller with glasses and an autoimmune disease that made him vulnerable to injury. It was self-defense, backed up with a lifetime of fighting with brothers.

You might want to give your son some tips in advance about people skills, sharing personal space, and that if he has roommate troubles he can talk to the advisor and get rooms changed.

Most freshmen aren't sure of those rules, and often stay in an unpleasant rooming situation longer than necessary.

Now back to doggies... ohhh, I'd like to introduce Darcy to Wilbrodog. Smaller, female. I also might try Chandler or Carver too.

Wilbrodog gets on great and will play
suitably with dogs of all sizes, but other dogs don't always appreciate his aggressive friendliness. And as he definitely thinks he owns me, a smaller dog of opposite sex who lives for playtime might work out best.

I keep reading Simon's "D" as a laugh-emoticon, and that made me think: Why doesn't anybody use an emoticon for his handle? <;P is available (note the tinfoil duncecap)

Then, if you got tired of the emoticon or got shamed out of it because it's not acceptable at every level of polite blog society, you could change to "Erstwhile Glyph." That's available, too.

Hey, are you making fun of the proud Phytgrian headwear that gnomes don? Tinfoil duncecap, indeed.

The Donovan dollar differential deals amount to a 3-year annual $3.5 million from the Gators and 5-year $5.25 million from the Magic. If he commutes from Gainesville to Orlando he will eat up the after tax difference in gas for the stretch Hummer.

Like this, Karen?

Sounds like Wilbrodog's style of play is similar to TWD's. When he's not body-slamming, he's playing "catch me if you can." Females that like to play rough are his preference. He tends to trash-talk other alpha males.

Hey! Not all only children make bad roommates. I had my first roomie my freshman year in college, and none of them had any complaints about me. I wasn't the one regularly up all night drinking vodka, or the one who left all her belongings, including leftovers, scattered around the apartment. They had siblings. The Boy has already had roommates at camp and come through very well.

Joel, that historical continuity thing can be awesome. On my first reunion (1975)I chatted with a gentleman from the class of '11, who remembered when Wilson was president -- of the University. He was among a crowd of alums who went to Wilson's Inauguration as US president to sing "Old Nass" and generally celebrate local boy made good.

Bertooch, Karl Rove already has that emoticon as his handle. Note the pointy head, the "up yours" toungue sticking out, etc.

Raysmom, I really wish you hadn't posted that dog link.

Thanks, dbG, you have successfully implanted a tune cootie for the day: "Hey, Delta Dawn, what's that flower you have on..." to replace the Ode to Billy Joe.

kbert, good suggestion about the emoticon; however not easily shamed here, sported the bright orange county jail duds once or twice for a fortnight (never start an altercation with a peace officer even if you think he is a racist - you always lose, sigh, back in my foolish early twenties)...shame? Talk to me about guilt, now that's a different subject...shame? Scores of notches on the belt, and I don't even wear pants, or slacks for that matter

So I'm a mild-mannered hot-head worthy of an emoticon...

Off to see the orthopedist momently...

Back to Billy Joe quickly please.

Raysmom loved the link, Bessie the St. Bernard was my favorite but I got my hands full with my beast, tempted as I am to get another.

Emoticons are fun, 'tis true...

:-)

Females that like to play rough are my preference too. But I never trash-talk the other alpha males.

Mudge, are you getting dog-tired of the discussion? Or tempted to bring one home yourself?

*humming Amazing Grace to innoculate self against Delta Dawn tune cootie*

Or she could be The Boodler Formerly Known as <;P

Roommates, eh? I once shared a one-room house with a girl who was one of seven kids. I figured she'd make a great roommate.

No. Turns out she was the only girl in the family. Those six brothers certainly learned how to share, but she only learned that she was queen of the nest and never had to share a thing.

ONJ's "Xanadu" almost became my tune cootie for the day, but my mind's ear couldn't recall the lyrics and "In Xanadu did Kubla Khan/A stately pleasure dome decree:" wouldn't fit the tune. Amazing Grace is a good eraser.

Speaking of trash talk, I gotta take my kitty to the vet after she got into the garbage juice out back...

Rush's "Xanadu" is a much better tune cootie.

:-)

Here is the cure for a tune cootie, Raysmom: sing the words of "Amazing Grace" to the tune of "Gilligan's Island".

Someday you'll thank me.

I'll second that, TBG. Worst roommate ever was one of three kids, but believed she was The Center of the Universe. Believed she had the right to tell me never to answer the phone; always let the answering machine get it, because she didn't want me taking messages for her. Pills can come from anywhere in the birth order.

yello, you could give your son some roommate practice before he leaves home. You know, borrow his clothes, eat up his favorite snacks, leave the bathroom a mess, make out with your wife in front of him.

Tempted, Raysmom, tempted. I like the St. Bernard mix and about five of the Beagles, and maybe two or three others, including that one breed I never even heard of until today--the Shinu whatsis? The two cute pups.

We don't have a dog any more, mainly because of the maintenence issues since we're always on the go and don't want to be tied down. But we've had a Beagle and three Westies. I deliberately don't go anywhere near pet stores, because I know I'm "at risk." Our oldest daughter and her family have a dog, and when they go away on vacation we dog-sit him for a week, and thereby get our "puppy fix" a couple times a year. My wife loves dogs, too, but wouldn't tolerate a breed that sheds. I understand the problem, but would love to have a big old non-shedding, non-pooping anything like a Collie, setter, yellow lab, St. Bernard, Bernese, whatever, to rough-house with. But I hate to have to puit a dog in a crate all day while we're at work, and then on weekends while we're doing this or that, etc.; it just wouldn't be fair.

The only roommates I ever had were fellow soldiers.

'Nuff said.

:-)

Ivansmom, thanks! That's what I was doing! Don't know why it works, but it does. Although Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald usually requires multiple treatments.

Scotty, did they eat all your MREs and steal all your ammo? Borrow your tank and return it almost out of gas? And leave, um, wrappers from protective devices on the floor in the back?

Speaking of records spinning in the brain (not the countless ones playing backwards, in nomine Ohio Players' "Retsaocrellor"), the band, Cake, has a great cover of the timeless Black Sabbath song, "War Pigs"

Wish I could provide it for the boodle's infotainment and listening leisure...but not exactly a spammer here, just an idiot - look for it if you like...

On said cover, Organ + trumpet = kinda good

Mudge, I know what you mean. TWD saves me from "chipping" (can't have just one).

I can vouch that Jasmine is definitely not a non-shed dog. But she's a snuggler.

Sorry for the abrupt change of topic (should be my handle), just read this article concerning Canadian Omar Khadr who is at Guantanamo, seems the tribunal dismissed the charges.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20070604.wkhadr0604_1/BNStory/International/home

'Mudge, even worse, they'd wander in at odd hours, shouting things like "Alert! Alert! Alert!" or "Gas! Gas! Gas!"

I was only sometimes the source for the latter alarums...

:-)

Yeah, I could tell, Raysmom. That's why I was sorry you posted the link.

I suspect that (how to put this gracefully?) many of our older female Boodlers are aware of one particular phenomenon that our younger Boodlers may not be. I speak of the thing between older married men, most often retired, and their dogs, almost always smaller dogs. When you become sensitized to it (or get to be an old fart and hang around too many Bob Evanses) you see it all the time: A married couple in their 50s or 60s, and he's got a 10-lbs. dog that goes everywhere with him, and sits in his lap while he's driving the car, etc. The couple goes in to Bob Evans to eat, and the man orders extra bacon or sausages or something to feed the dog. Typically the man takes better care of the dog than he does of his wife. It's the human craving for unconditional affection (which is about the last thing a man who's been married to the same woman for 40 years gets from his wife). My father was one such like that before he died.

I was pretty lucky with roommates. I found one that wouldn't hit on my girlfriend and I wasn't his type.

http://livebythefoma.blogspot.com/2006/03/greatest-roommate-ever.html

Simon, as much as I love "War Pigs," Cake's cover of "I Will Survive" gets my feet moving.

Never had any trouble with roommates, thank goodness.

bc

I feel sorry for you, yellojkt. Without difficult room-mates, there's hardly anything for college students to talk about. Besides, you know, college. And a crushing sense of anxiety unlike anything experienced by the fortunate prior generations or any conceivable later generation, unique in human experience.

Hi!

Since JA mentioned NPR...I got a real message from a real person at NPR today. I submitted a comment via their website, and I got a real reply AND an apology for when the reporter called me "sir" in the salutation. It made my day.

I'll catch up with the Boodle later. I'm heading home before the rain starts.

Did you dog fanciers see this chat?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2007/06/01/DI2007060101798.html?hpid=discussions

My best friend from high school thinks only kids are all spoiled. My kid is an only kid, and I practically was because my brother and sister are quite a bit older than I am. So I take exception to that. This friend is the only reason I have gone to any high school reunions - which for me are kind of dull and weird, but punctuated by some pleasant surprises.

Like Yello, I'm having my high school 25th class reunion this year too. Leaving for Las Vegas this week for it, as a matter of fact. Not sure why but folks out here LOVE the LV and make it the destination of choice for many a reunion. In any case, it will be interesting to see who shows up. Of a class of over 500 I think only about 50 are actually coming.

As for roommates, I had one who was a great cook, came with a fully furnished apartment and all I had to do was move in with my bed, clothes and a TV. It was a great experience.

Mudge, I'm picturing all those cute old gentlement cuddling their cute little dogs at a reunion. The ones at the panel table have a pitcher and glass of water, with a little bowl for the dogs, who also get their own little microphones to growl into. Later, they share a scotch at the bar. The dogs mix theirs with milk.

The rain started while I was packing up my stuff. Now I'll wait it out.

I'm glad some of you enjoyed the Lumosity test. I thought the math part was flawed. It measures your typing speed and accuracy, not your math ability.

I had a roommate who was somewhere in the middle of 9 siblings. She never asked, just took. One day I passed her in the quad and she was wearing my sweatshirt our class designed and wore during our senior year in high school. I made her take it off right there, in front of everyone, and she had to walk back to the dorm in an undershirt in the middle of January.

A male friend once explained to me why dogs seem to bond so strongly to men. "We're basically the same. Feed us, let us nap, and we're happy. You wouldn't ask your dog what he's thinking, would you? Same with us--the answer is 'nothing.'"

The whole Khadr family is a disgrace to this country, but the judge wasn't sure the 15-16 years old (at the time) is an "illegal enemy combatant" or a straight "enemy combatant". You have to love lawyers. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khadr_family

ho ho. The team installing the new government developed&approved "thin client" applications to replace M$ Office is approaching my cubicle. It's one of those cases you just know you are going to get scrooed and there is nothing you can do. I hope they'll give me enough time to get to my extra large tube of K-Y gel before they make it to my cube.

Maybe I won't get it, I'm definitively not a "thin client" after all.

dmd, I'm not surprised at all, ticked off mightily, but not surprised.
The lawyer states she 'remains puzzled by the seeming lack of support for Mr. Khadr's case in Canada.'

Funny how that could happen to a person whose family was on tv in a long tv interview where they stated their opinions of Canadians. Let's jut say, they sort of thought we should suffer the fates of the damned.

They are just one of the many many reasons why Canada must beyond a shadow of a doubt tighten up our laws on immigration and citizenship.

And the suspense is over...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/04/AR2007060400683.html?hpid=topnews

dr, I would not taint all our immigrants by the actions of a few people. Our nation will increasingly rely on immigrants to feed growth going forward as our birthrate cannot sustain us, where is the outcry over citizenship for a Bernardo? To often in Canada we blame our immigrants when there are problems but overlooked the home grown issues. There are bad people everywhere.

BTW, Ivansmom, you made me laugh a couple times the other day. You once remarked that in all the BPH photos you've ever seen, I was always wearing a blue shirt. Well a week or two ago I took a batch of shirts to the dry cleaners, and was counting them out and discovered that all seven were blue--two blue and white striped (I have three such long-sleeved and two short-sleeved), two solid powder blue ("the TV anchorman's shirt"), one solid darker blue, a tattersall, and another pattern blue. And I started laughing and the girl at the counter thought I was a little strange.

When I went to the dry cleaners Saturday to pick up my shirts (a different batch), my wife looked at them in the plastic bag, registered that they were all blue, and said, "Gee, you had another blue week didn't you?" I laughed and almost said, "You know, that's what Ivansmom always says." But I caught myself in time, because there'sd be waaaaaay too much splainin' to do.

So I'm saving a red shirt for the BPH. Which is when exactly? Tomorrow or Wednesday? Has anybody decided? I need to color-coordinate my wardrobe.

At this point, I'd think we'd lean towards a Wednesday BPH...

:-)

Mudge, your description of the man-dog dynamic reminds me:

During our "honeymoon" summer in New York City, we stayed at a low-rent Rockaway Beach boarding house with thin walls and "interesting" neighbors. The couple next door had obviously been married a long time, some might say "too long." They screamed and cursed at each other day and night, and one of their favorite subjects for argument was The Dog. Apparently it was HIS dog, and she was endlessly provoked by the attention he paid to it, and the trouble it caused her. One of her favorite phrases was "You care more about that *@#^@*# dog than you do about me!!" We were mightily amused by this dysfunctional couple, since we were still in the first blush of romance, happily spending 24 hours a day in connubial bliss. Over the years, that couple has been a kind of talisman to us; it's almost as if they were angels sent to help us through the hard times, because when we get cranky we can see them in ourselves and laugh.

I definitely want pictures if Mudge wears something other than a blue shirt. How will they recognize you?

I know Ivansdad always seems vaguely flattered when I say an imaginary friend shares one of his opinions. Either that, or he's humoring me.

Wednesday having been moved and seconded, do I hear any objections? Going once...

Going twice...

Hip hip
Tiger tiger tiger
Sis sis sis
Boom boom boom bah
'82! '82! '82!

(Happy reunions, Joel)

Its not just awful people that lead to my opinion. I did say one of many reasons.

I'm also thinking about the lady who was in a basement of a church somewhere in Nova Scotia for over a year while trying to reason with the beauracracy, the whole strippergate event, as well as all the people caught out by changes in immigration law.
It's a beaucracy without commonsense that I object too. That's what needs changing.

dr, Sgro was cleared of all wrong doing. Current government works hard to keep the facts under the radar.

We spent Saturday evening with some cousins (husband's) who were in town. These are not folks we know well, but have always really like and we had a great time with them on Saturday.

Anyway.. I would say, "A friend of mine says.." or "I told my friends..." more times than I would have expected (really?) when referring to things I've learned and told in my boodling.

On the way home we laughed about it. My husband said I must be ashamed, but I insisted, no.. not ashamed at all... I just didn't have enough time to explain it!

Sometimes you just know folks will get it and sometimes you know they won't.

In any case dr, the Khadr case is interesting because of the further complications it will cause the US government concerning Gitmo. I still do not quite understand why these particular prisoners are treated differently than say POW's from previous wars.

TBG, I had the same experience with my family this weekend! And I didn't even try to explain to my mom who the rhubarb was for!

I've noticed the Boy and his friends take the whole "imaginary friend" phenomenon in stride. I'm not sure whether this is due to their acceptance of Internet communication, or just is a consequence of their opinion of me personally.

TBG and Raysmom,

I had the hardest time explaining to my wife why I had gotten invited to the housewarming of a fellow blogger (but not a boodler) that I had never met in person. She was willing to overcome any suspicion since it meant roasted pork.

http://livebythefoma.blogspot.com/2007/06/when-worlds-collide.html

Also, as my dog gets older and crankier it has become a lightning rod for vague complaints that could be directed at me. It keeps getting called 'YOUR dog' as in "YOUR dog woke me up from my nap." or "YOUR dog is whimpering. Find out what his problem is." She keeps threatening the dog that he may be looking for a new home. There's an implied threat that I may be part of the package.

I attribute many boodler notions to "somebody said..." or "I read on the internet that.."

Attribution and explanation are overrated.

Two weekends ago I had my 50th high school reunion... Attending were the usual suspects along with the school principal and the head teacher who chaperoned the senior trip to New York City from Michigan...
Amongst the festivities the two gave a speech, each... The chaperone proceeded to recount the tale of our trip, ending with the gimlet eyed assertion, whilst eye fixated upon me, that one student in particular was the single reason that no senior trips were ever under taken after that....
This prompted my wifes's gimlet eyed assertion that she intended to learn more about my activities on this trip...
Me, I just tried to look innocent...

denny

NHL Broadcast update:

The inimitable Don Cherry, "Grapes," affectionately, will be on NBC between the 2nd and 3rd period of game 4 tonight.

A berry nicknamed a berry, Cherry is to Canada what Harry Caray/John Madden are to the home folk (Is a grape a berry? dunno, shootin' from the hip here)

My knee is pumped full of isotoner slippers at the moment - still catching up, vying to explore the luminosity.com deal

Peace

I think I posted this before, somewhere. I went on a job interview and wowed a member of the panel with stuff I'd learned from you guys. He asked how I knew, and I just said I correspond with very interesting people online. This was an educational technology person, so I made a good impression.

Way back, before conventions were a dime a dozen, didn't scientists and philosophers learn by corresponding with colleagues elsewhere? Isn't the Boodle the same?

Joel, you might be interested in the fact that your pal Stuart just got nominated as Chief Justice of the NJ Supreme Court!

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2007/06/corzine_names_rabner_next_chie.html

Joel, you might be interested in the fact that your pal Stuart just got nominated as Chief Justice of the NJ Supreme Court!

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2007/06/corzine_names_rabner_next_chie.html

denny... you sound like fun!

Sarah.. that's cool news--not even something that would have passed through our radar before today. That's what I love about the boodle!

And Joel can be relieved to know that according to the article you linked to, Rabner "would be the youngest chief justice in the court's modern history."

On second thought... What the heck does that mean? Modern history? I mean how many chief justices has New Jersey had?

You guys gotta read Dan Froomkin's column today. Makes the hair on the back of your neck stand up. This is scary stuff. A few nut grafs:

"This White House official has stated to several Washington insiders that Cheney is planning to deploy an 'end run strategy' around the President if he and his team lose the policy argument.

...

"The zinger of this information is the admission by this Cheney aide that Cheney himself is frustrated with President Bush and believes, much like Richard Perle, that Bush is making a disastrous mistake by aligning himself with the policy course that Condoleezza Rice [and others] have sculpted.

"According to this official, Cheney believes that Bush can not be counted on to make the 'right decision' when it comes to dealing with Iran and thus Cheney believes that he must tie the President's hands."

Folks, these are Cheney people talking. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/blog/2007/06/04/BL2007060400819.html?hpid=opinionsbox2

Rabner will be the 12th Chief Justice in NJ and at age 46, second youngest. Charles Ewing became Chief Justice in 1824 at age 44.

I'm all mixed up: is it "Phee" "Phi" "Fee" as in d-fee/d-tea; maxwell (the dude not the brew) flux and all notwithstanding...I couldn't budge on the luminosity test. I'm bad at following instructions, at least that's what the Marines told me on the way out...No tattoos, no tremors, college education, deadeye, sharp Corps locution, and swimmers' lungs, put me in the field! "Sorry son, but you can't follow instructions!"

"Then how am I supposed to pay off my student loans?"

Six more months and knee rehab, then I'm back

semper fidelis

Ooops. 5:53 was me. Running for the bus now. Later, dudes.

Mudge, thanks for that.

Gotta run myself.

Have a nice evening, all.

bc

That whole "roomie" issue can certainly be troublesome. Most college-bound kids are not used to sharing their personal space with anyone else, and certainly not a stranger. Issues of décor, proper musical ambience, and acceptable sleeping schedules can easily produce rancor.

My first roomie was a reserved young man who also spent most evenings in a drunken haze. He left after a few months. I immediately transformed his side of the room into a hippie-inspired love den of throw pillows and beaded curtains. Kind of like what Greg Brady did to his parent's attic.

What prevented this from becoming a pit of carnal sin was the distinct absence of many, you know, actual women. But it did become a popular place to hang out and study, which is how I met my second roomie. He was a very cool guy from Arizona with a weird obsession with classic rock. (I believe I have posted about his refusal to let me leave the room until I named all Rolling Stones, past and present.)

As an escape from the pressures of college life, we used to routinely develop imaginative new approaches to the consumption of distilled spirits. I still claim that he and I invented Jello shooters, although we foolishly failed to seek a patent. Then there was the whole "Exploding Tequila " incident, which made our room uninhabitable for an entire weekend.

Looking back I don't think I would have enjoyed college nearly as much if it weren't for that fine fellow.

Even if he did miscalculate the vapor pressure.

I don't know how many of you have been wasting time with Google Street View. I'm hooked. Here are a couple of links where you can see funny stuff.

http://mashable.com/2007/05/31/top-15-google-street-view-sightings/

http://www.laudontech.com/StreetView/streetview.html

Ivansmom - I think I may have injured some seldom-used neurons trying to simultaneously remember the words to Amazing Grace and the melody to Gilligan's Isle.

But it's a good pain.

Sarah:
Someone standing next to Stuart informed me that not only was he the AG but was also up for Chief Justice. I probably should have added that to the kit. The more general truth is that some people are reluctant to attend Reunions, or anxious about it, because they worry that they won't measure up -- indeed I heard that several times this weekend. But there's a great leveling effect when the temperature hits 90 and everyone's wearing an identical ugly orange jacket and sleeping in un-air-conditioned dorm rooms etc.

I always thought the reason to reunion was the opportunity to sleep with everyone you missed the first time around. On clean, unfolded sheets pulled right from the dryer. With delta songs playing in the background and rain pelting against a slightly open window.

Why do married people go? :-)

>Why do married people go? :-)

In my experience, same reason! Although they *may* change their minds at 5am aftert a bit of honest discussion.

"I hate my husband."

"But he's flying 25hrs to CHINA to pick up your adopted daughter! Don't you think you might want to give him another chance?"

Sometimes I just hate to be a good guy.

Oh my goodness golly. I had no idea such ribald goings on were considered part of the reunion experience. Perhaps I should have gone to some when I was single. Not my own, of course. But ones with women.

Error, RD, you guys always make my day.

I went to a reunion with my dad once. It was his 25th, all his med school friends were there. I'm the middle child, and the most "average" one. My siblings were always winning awards and stuff. That was my senior year in high school. I had never heard my dad brag about me before. It was a very odd weekend. I don't know if he really meant all that bragging, if he did it for his friends, or if he was sad I'd be moving to the States in just a few weeks and wanted me to feel appreciated. I should ask him. I've always felt he made me waste a glaucoma-test-piloting weekend in vain.

I married my high school sweetheart, so dbG's strategy would not be a good idea for me.

a bea c, you should ask him - I bet he was very proud of you! It never would have occurred to me to take my son to a reunion - or my husband (both would have refused anyway). The reason I go with my best friend is so that her husband doesn't feel like he should go with her. It's awkward enough seeing people that you haven't seen in 20 years without taking people along that have no connection to the people or place, except through you. Someone did bring her daughter to the last reunion I went to, because there were other family things going on with them that weekend. She seemed to be coping ok. So maybe it's just me. I don't want to go to any more reunions. BPH's - those are a whole 'nother kettle of fish!

>I gotta say, that was some humdinger episode of The Sopranos last night.

I have never watched a better 50 minutes of television drama (they didn't even use up the whole hour!). It is impossible to believe how many story lines were tied together in this episode. It was a pivot point episode after which nothing would ever be the same and carried off with perfect timing, humor ("you don't need a gynecologist to know which way the wind blows") and impending doom.

Wife won't watch, her loss.

i've been to one college reunion and zero high school reunions. to make up for that loss, i've been to about a dozen big family reunions. the last one was in charleston, sc in july. in a year, there will another somewhere else in the south, also in july. i have no relatives in either southern state, so i have no explanation for any of this. typical conversation last time around:

me: i'm going away on vacation
friend: oh, where ya going?
me: south carolina
friend: south carolina? why there?
me: family reunion
friend: oh, so you have family in south carolina?
me: no, actually i don't
friend: ??

who on earth makes the south a vacation destination in the middle of summer? (no offense to southerners)

L.A. Lurker... that makes as much sense as Aloha's high school reunions in Las Vegas.

Didn't Aloha go to high school in Hawaii?

TBG, this one's for you.

Biologist trains dog to track polar bear scat at the Mianus River Gorge Preserve. You can't make this stuff up (well, maybe *we* could)! Does a polar bear poop in the woods?

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/05/science/05prof.html?8dpc

dbG, my favorite polar bear is Thornton in the comic "Sherman's Lagoon". He's always shown laying under a palm tree with a fancy umbrella drink.

That's one smart bear.

Mudge, I was watching "It's Me or the Dog!" on Animal Planet today...
The trainer doesn't always use purely positive reinforcement, but she's one of the better TV trainers I've seen and never touches or bullies the dog at all.

Well, the first was this bulldog that was absolutely bratty and this guy, I mean, he was cooking a HUGE scrambled egg omelet for this what, 60 lb bulldog?-- with 12 eggs, a stick of butter, cheese. I kid you not. And the dog hates walks, and always has a ton of food. So he goes in the house ALL the time. The dog jumps and bites their middle son, too. So she set them straight in a very good manner and the dog improved his manners and because the guy still wants to spoil his dog, she suggests hydrotherapy sessions-- expensive.

You have a good thought there, Mudge, about why men spoil their dogs silly. Women do it too, but it's usually attributed to wanting child surrogates. Oddly enough so far most such clients actually do have kids-- teenagers.

Anybody watching those episodes would wonder if dogs aren't the ultimate nest parasites or something. I mean, those dogs are SPOILED. Most of those kids are saying, "the dogs take precedence over me."

But then, you get the impression these people might do the same thing if they had a cat, a bunny, or stuffed animals.

The second one was about a pair of lab-great dane mixes. The trainer figured they had spent over 100,000 dollars on those dogs in 4 years-- food, vet bills, moving expenses (one dog was dog-aggressive and they MOVED to avoid other dogs. Four times. And built a fence every time.)

They cooked meals for their dogs because the dogs wouldn't eat dog food. "The trick is to put in some human food and mix it up well. they'll eat it." They did. With gentle leaders and coaching on body language and handling and positive reinforcement and desensitivization to barking dogs, they were able to take their dogs for walks without the dogs dragging them around.

There's love, and then there's an uncontrollable desire to be a doormat for what you love.

Error, that's my kind of bear. Jersey Shore, do you think?

L.A., if it makes you feel any better, musician wife has a vacation in early August which typically leads to trip to see in-laws in Atlanta. Unlike coastal Charlestown which presumably gets some sea breezes, from about 3-7 pm in Atlanta, there is no wind, just humidity.

My salvation: siesta time.

Mudge,
Frederick Law Olmsted...connected to Ferdinand Vandeveer Hayden?, who does have a connection to David Porter Heap (whose brother is connected to U.S. [Texas] Camel Corps), who has a connection to Paris August 1881 (opened on Aug. 1)International Electrical Exhibit, where among the private French exhibitors those generating the greatest interest are Trouve's electrical boats and Faure's electrical accumulator. (NYT archives).

Dooley, if you're around, would like to discuss Hayden a little further with you.

>Error, that's my kind of bear. Jersey Shore, do you think?

Well I dunno. Sherman's Lagoon looks a bit more tropical to me, but I'll be getting down the Jersey Shore this year, and sooner than later.

Quiet boodle tonight. I guess folks just go to bed when there's not a scientist to watch.

here's the thing. we were staying at the shore in sc. but those onshore breezes are coming off water that's already in the 90s (and is so hot you can't make up your mind whether to stay in or out). however, did we stay on the beach much during the day? why noooo. we had to go inland and be cultural, take buggy rides around charleston and traipse around plantations.
it would have all been really nice...in october.

Or it's the day after a big bloated boodle, aka Monday constipation, TBG.

My ISP was suffering from cablus interruptus all day.

I did have a bit of unwarranted, unproven pride in being dead sure this was how the pyramids were built when I read this story:

http://tinyurl.com/2kvmh6

The comment on Portland cement earlier by Yellojkt was particularly apt. The Romans used cement and concrete. THat's basically gravel and limestone.

Here's the thing-- what would the original concrete have looked like? Limestone dissolves easily, so the original concrete would have probably been mostly limestone.

And the Egyptians were the premiere mass-scale builder before the Romans, very much into chemistry (alchemy, really), embalming, makeup, beer, and all that. And they traded with the Romans and Greeks.

The clues were there all along, but I never thought they'd actually test this hypothesis out. I mean, "hi, can I chip off and sample a bit of your cultural heritage to see if it's actually like, an early form of concrete-- you know, cast limestone?"

I feel less dumb now-- and I needed it after seeing that dorky online test (Lumina?) imply that a gerbil could beat me silly on short-term memory tests. What was I saying?

The big science story is firm evidence that chickens arrived on the Pacific coast of South America before Columbus, and their DNA matches chickens from Samoa.

So the Polynesians brought them, not the Chinese who, according to a somewhat nutty book of a few years ago, discovered America in 1421 or whatever.

Good band: Sonata Arctica - _Unia_ - I wish were Finnish in order to reclaim prog/metal for the internets...

Willbrod, limestone in the H2O is good for horses - Mammoth Cave, KY, eg - Barbaro and bless him...thoroughbreds - God grace the Egyptians for owning slaves and putting the Tribe to work...Good thing that dude named God takes sides? And has discretion in architecture...Besides anyone know what's really buried under the Sphinx?

Some kinda decoder ring of sorts I reckon

Forgot what my point was...pretty sure the Greeks stole their word for the sea, "thallatta" from some smothered and conquered group way before records started gettin' kept...

And so on into infinity...raze ourselves, praise all

Dave, South American Indians look to have a healthy chunk of polynesian blood to start with.

I believe a study indicated that those tribes are a mixture of polynesian and North American Indian blood, or something like that.

There is some evidence that foods have travelled between Africa and South America long before Columbus. The Polynesian peoples have been the leading faves for such trade.

Wiki says while most native Americans are apparently descended from Siberian hunters,
"The traditional view above has recently been challenged by findings of human remains in South America that are claimed to be too old to fit this scenario--perhaps even 20,000 years old. Some recent finds (notably the Luzia skeleton in Lagoa Santa) are claimed to be morphologically distinct from Asians and are more similar to African and Australian Aborigines. These American Aborigines would have been later displaced or absorbed by the Siberian immigrants. The distinctive natives of Tierra del Fuego, the southernmost tip of the American continent, may have been the last remains of those Aboriginal populations.

These early immigrants would have either crossed the ocean by boat or traveled north along the Asian coast and entered America through the Bering Strait area, well before the Siberian waves. This theory is still resisted by many scientists chiefly because of the apparent difficulty of the trip."

If they could get to Easter Island, they could get to South America which is a lot bigger.

Simon D, there's apparently no IE cognate word for "sea" so it may be that the IE groups made up their own words for sea.

Lithuanian: jra
Irish: muir
Latin: mare
Greek: thalassa
Hindustani: samundar
Old Persian: drayah-
Old English: sæ

Those words may be from other words in IE OR from non-IE speaking groups.

Since Thalassa was also the name of a goddess representing the mediterranean, it's likely that this was indeed an non-IE word as you indicate, representing a specific place-name.

There are many examples of such in Italy and Greece, in fact leading to this theory about a proto-greek substrate.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_substrate_language

Disclaimer: professional help already sought

Jonah got the rawest deal of all the First Book prophets...just listen, you will hear your calling

Or so say some bipolar whackos...

Q-tips always on sale to un-clog the orifices - as says Fletch, "step into my orifice" and the best, "step on to the lenai" (read fire escape)

OK too much nonsense, divorce proceedings notwithstanding, Fletch references too, I'll leave it at this, She who giveth also take awayeth...

Jonah is my hero - if only could be vomited onto the sand by a whale... Ah Pinnochio I nuzzle you

Taketh...donnez...merde

I was cheating on my wife with Edgar Cayce and hyper-superstition and crazy talk. Health insurance quack talk didn't help us stay together. Good partner. She took the handguns, but I got the cat, and the rifles, thankfully. We're not rednecks, just property handicappers, during proceedings. I can't believe it's over; suppose it was mutual and all, I still love her and want her back even, but that's not up to me.

Guess it was easy for her to call quits when I was in crutches...I know this ain't a personal ad site, and I'm sorry for venting, but really just typing...goddammitt...

Howabout that Kevin Youkilis?

Gambolled? Hurray for the girls for being teenagers yet emotionally/spiritually free to do just that (let alone with Dad nearby), and good for you (JA) not only for being able to accept it, but to delight in it. (Hard to not see them as 9 sometimes, no?) Glad a good time was had by all.

Yeah, that bites, Simon D.

My old ex waited until I was OFF crutches to break up with me, although honestly the hanky panky started before I was off crutches. "Oh I'm going dancing, you mind?"

At least you have the cat; that has to be more fun to cuddle than a gun, unless you're violently allergic to cats.

Do go easy on the painkillers and heavy on the sleep for now if you can.

Ye Gods!! We might be seeing a return to sanity!

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/04/AR2007060400875.html?hpid=topnews

I covered the FCC a few years ago, and it was easy to see the agency was meant to handle technology issues, not content.

:-)

Oh yeah...

Morning everyone! *wishing-it-was-Friday Grover waves*

:-)

Then again, sanity might be a bit much to ask for... Boston firefighter in uniform attacked while helping a truck driver...

http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2007/06/05/firefighter_helping_driver_is_attacked_in_charlestown/

:-O

Good morning all.

My 3 dogs were all strays before. One day, a few years back, mother dog came to up to the house and I fed her. Next day she showed up with her 2 daughters and a son and won't leave. I didn't mind it. They realized there were monkeys on the other side of the fence and immediately dug a big hole under the chain link fence. When the monkeys came down from the trees and wondered around, the dogs would zoom under the fence and give chase. The monkeys would race back up the trees cackling as if laughing at the dogs. Both dog and monkey entertain themselves that way almost everyday since then. And I on the other hand got relieve from having to retrieve my ..ahem.. garments from the trees hung there by the monkeys.

Good morning, friends. Is this a Republican site? I did not see a mention of the Democratic debate, perhaps I missed it? Did not get a chance to look at it on television. I did read that Edwards got a little testy, and Clinton talked about her faith in regards to the marital problems.

Eugene Robinson makes some valid points about the Iraq war and the politicians of the Democratic party.

Have the Republicans had their debate yet? I've probably missed that too.

I just want the debates to narrow down, too many people. Can't get a good feel of what these folks are thinking because they're trying to appear in some sense, neutral?

Mudge, don't go there. The laundromat.

I think we have become numb to the war. And I believe some of us think that longevity is going to win the war. I don't know about that, didn't help in Vietnam. I feel bad for the families, and just want the war over.

I remember a time in this country when there were people that spoke out against war, poverty, and injustice, but I don't hear one voice for any of that now. What happen to us? Did fear take away our spirit of truth and justice? No one talks about the good things any more, just quietness, and acting as if everything is right as rain.

Fingers swollen this morning, and body feels as if it has been slammed on concrete. I am truly hoping that clears up. Have a great day, folks. Remember it is Tuesday, a long way to go before the weekend. But just think how happy you will be when Friday arrives. Maybe not?

*Waving to all the boodlers*

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

It was SciTim that linked Portland cement to the Romans, not me. Lost technologies are interesting. Jerry Pournelle in one of his Balticon talks said that forgetting how to do things is a sign of a dark age. His example was that farmers in Gaul during the Middle Ages were lucky to get grain yields of two bushels an acre from a bushel of seed. Roman era farmers in the same area routinely got ten bushels an acre.

It would seem that concrete and its cousins were another lost technology. Thank goodness brewing remained in the public domain.

SCC : Arithmetic error. Male dog left home after a couple of months.

'Morning, Scotty and Boodle. dbG and EF, I'm virtually certain the polar bear in Sherman's Lagoon isn't lounging at the Jersey shore (aka donnashore) because you'd see the skeleton frames of those burned-out Chevrolets in the background.

Watched the DVD of Mel Gibson's "Apocalypto" last night. It was pretty bloody, but pretty good. Basically one long chase movie. Not for the kiddies. I thought the sequence in the Mayan city very good and very authentic-looking. (The actors were virtually all Hispanic, rather than the distinctively different Mayan, but you have to expect that; there aren't that many Mayans left and not enough to have a cadre of actors. The hero, an actor named Rudy Youngblood (nee Gonzalez), is really terrific; I'd watch him in anything. According to IMDB, he is Cree, Comanche, and Yaqui Native American and one-quarter African-American, and a pediatric cancer survivor. You're going to see a lot of this guy.

Pretty good Gene Robinson column this morning.

rain forest, love the visuals. I think dog heaven is probably monkey hell.

Morning, everybody. Hey Cassandra!

We're still in Boston and I'm being lazy - again.

Scotty, that's a scary story you linked to. What kind of deluded criminal jumps a firefighter? I'll bet they never make an arrest in the case.

TS Barry came through yesterday, and I got drenched walking to Filene's Basement. Interesting place; it's going to close in a couple of weeks for a much-needed renovation.

Let's see if I can motivate myself to get dressed and pretend to be productive today...

Hi Slyness, you'll have better weather today. Hope you can get to Nantucket before you go home. Off to work, such a long commute, takes about 8 minutes. Still not very busy there for me but hopeful that, with time, I'll take on some work. At least I can keep up with the Boodle in the interim.

Hey Sneaks! We are still discussing the agenda but it looks like Nantucket is off. We'd have to get up too early and run too fast to have any time there. So we'll probably just play around in Boston.

Mornin' everybody...

Just finished reading today's op-eds. I agree that Robinson's was good, but Dionne's piece about the Dems not focusing enough on domestic bread-and-butter issues in the debates really hit home with me.

I, too, am bothered that even though more than two thirds of Americans are against the war, nothing substantial is being done to end our involvement. Clinton was right -- this is Bush's war -- but if she wants to be President (and this goes for the rest of the contenders as well), it's time to get off the porch and do something already. What part of "the majority of American voters want out" does Clinton and the rest not understand?

But what really bothers me (and apparently Dionne) is that while everyone is busy watching the Iraq circus, issues that directly touch our lives -- employment, health care, education -- are relegated to the back burner. If the Dems aren't careful, they're likely to lose their base over these issues because they're spending an inordinate amount of their political capital on an issue (Iraq) they can't or won't do anything about.

I just want to slap them all silly.

Maybe it's the rain this morning, but melancholy topped with a dash of disappointment and a heaping side of disgust seems to be my dish for the day.

I'm off to hang a new door.

Peace...

(71)

Slyness, it amazes me people would jump a firefighter doing the public safety thing while in uniform. What's next, jumping on cops because they don't wave you through the intersection first?? :-O

Simon D, Raysdad sends thanks for the Don Cherry alert.

Wilbrod, "It's Me or the Dog" sounds a lot like "Supernanny"--which is probably why I haven't watched it yet. It just irks me to see owners let their dog run the household, then complain that the dog doesn't behave.

martooni, you are so fortunate to be doing something with such a tangible result, like hanging a door. Congrats on 71.

*minimalist mercy-it's-only-Tuesday Grover-waves back to Scotty*

Martooni, seventy-one is great. I, too, keep wondering where is that person that speaks for the things that touch us here at home, unemployment, health care, etc. The list is long, yet I don't hear a word.

We need someone that is not afraid, that will speak up. I am so tired of people conforming to bad behavior and lack of doing good. Open your mouth America. It is good to speak good, and even better to do good. What are you waiting for? Stop worshipping men, and give that praise to your Creator, God through Christ. Men can't help you, they need the same thing you need.

I can hardly breath. Must be my asthma this morning. I still believe the above.

Hello, Slyness. I hope you are enjoying yourself.

Raysmom;

Now THAT is an interesting mental image, as I never considered Grover to be a minimalist... *L*

martooni writes:
But what really bothers me (and apparently Dionne) is that while everyone is busy watching the Iraq circus, issues that directly touch our lives -- employment, health care, education -- are relegated to the back burner.

Not if Bill Gates has his way. These grafs are from an April 25 NYT op-ed, but I 'll swear that I read another NYT op-ed, perhaps Select, on the same subject, an update, if you will, in the past week, yet can't seem to find it this morning:

Eli Broad and Bill Gates, two of the most important philanthropists in American public education, have pumped more than $2 billion into improving schools. But now, dissatisfied with the pace of change, they are joining forces for a $60 million foray into politics in an effort to vault education high onto the agenda of the 2008 presidential race.

Experts on campaign spending said the project would rank as one of the most expensive single-issue initiatives ever in a presidential race, dwarfing, for example, the $22.4 million that the Swift Vets and P.O.W.s for Truth group spent against Senator John Kerry in 2004, and the $7.8 million spent on advocacy that year by AARP, the lobby for older Americans.

Under the slogan "Ed in '08," the project, called Strong American Schools, will include television and radio advertising in battleground states, an Internet-driven appeal for volunteers and a national network of operatives in both parties.

I too was unable to take that lumosity test because the buttons disappear.

>skeleton frames of those burned-out Chevrolets in the background.

No worries Mudge, that's what the pines are for. Dem Jersey Devils gotta live somewhere.

Found it. Written by Tim Egan, it's a NYT Select op-ed published June 2, titled "Billionaires and Bake Sales." The latter grafs:

Mr. Gates and Eli Broad, a fellow billionaire, said they will spend $60 million in an effort to get the candidates to talk about: schools! They have assembled a bipartisan group to point out such inconvenient facts as the million students who drop out of American high schools every year, or that the U.S. ranks near the bottom of industrialized nations in functional understanding of math and science.

The campaign could use a little remedial schooling. Three of the Republican candidates don't even believe in evolution. Don't know much about history, don't know much biology. [And McCain should study Powell about the origins of the Grand Canyon, Powell the successor to the U.S.G.S. work done by Hayden.]

By any measure, $60 million is no small change. It is far more than the National Rifle Association or the National Education Association -- two vaunted, entrenched interest groups -- spent in the 2004 campaign. And it is nearly triple what it cost to Swift Boat John Kerry's war record, an effective if dishonest campaign.

Most special interest groups can rally members and donate cash to politicians. The education group, called Strong American Schools, cannot support individual candidates or legislation, by the rules of their organization. Thus, the world's richest man has little leverage in a wide-open presidential campaign.

At the early debates, the Gates' group took out ads and held press conferences. But what did it get them? The candidates barely mentioned education, and when they did it was couched in the tired talking points tailored to their interest groups -- vouchers and charter schools for Republicans, the untouchable teachers' union for Democrats.

Education is such an orphan issue that Senator John McCain doesn't even mention it on his Web site. If only Mr. Gates wanted to strip away environmental protections or weaken consumer laws -- that would get the candidates' attention. Witness the timber industry hacks who now guide the Forest Service after a decade of Republican contributions, or the bankers who bought a new bankruptcy law that makes it harder for poor people to stay out of credit card hell.

"We're trying to create a Sputnik moment, to get people to see that our very economic future is at stake," said Mr. Broad, a lifelong Democrat who says the party is too beholden to the teachers' union.

To be fair, the new campaign is just getting started, and it may yet be split off into a group that has the legal flexibility to rate the candidates -- which may be the more effective way to go.

Tomorrow, when Democratic candidates assemble for yet another debate, it is unlikely they will answer the hard questions that Mr. Gates is asking. But if he used that $60 million more directly, with muscle, the candidates would talk and talk and talk. Otherwise, it's all apple pie at an empty bake sale.

Scotty, picture a very sleepy Grover trying to wave.

Frankly, Raysmom, I can't picture a sleepy Grover, either. :-)

TBG, it was thirty years ago today that the Apple II went on sale.

" I, too, keep wondering where is that person that speaks for the things that touch us here at home, unemployment, health care, etc. The list is long, yet I don't hear a word."

http://johnedwards.com/about/issues/

http://www.resist.com.au/intropics/bushliberty.jpg

Howdy y'all. I didn't watch the Democratic candidate debates because, as I may have mentioned, it is TOO FREAKING EARLY. [Insert rant here.] I agree with Martooni (congrats, 71!) that if they're going to focus on Iraq to the exclusion of domestic issues they better have something more substantive to propose.

I hope I'm not getting numb to the war, Cassandra, but I worry. I am so angry about it, and get madder with every day's new bad stories, that I have to try and make myself pay attention. Theoretical merits of the war itself aside, what we've created over there is just wrong in so many ways and on so many levels, and so many people are dying for our ineptitude, I just get ashamed. It isn't a pretty thing, to be ashamed for your country.

RD, I bet our universities had similar demographics. I would be one of the few women at my reunions. I think I've mentioned earlier that the ratios didn't work out to the dating paradise we had hoped. A third of the guys were hopeless geeks and a third were already taken, so we all dated from the same pool of the remaining third.

To that mother and father of that son or daughter that has lost life or limb, it will never be too early to talk about war or anything else that touches us so deeply and thoroughly. We have put our faith and trust in that which will never save or help us. It will, however; sink us deeper and deeper into that pit, and the way the Scripture describe it, when we turn to run from the lion, we head dead into the bear. When we seek comfort in the house and lean against the wall, the serpent will bite.

Good morning, Ivansmom, not you, just everything.

Now the college demographics have changed. My son is heading down to a school that's around 70% women. He is very happy about that.

Ooooh... Libby sentencing today. What do you think?

Ivansmom - I believe the female mantra was that while the odds were quite good, the goods were quite odd.

Wilbrod,
Skeletons of ancient South Americans (from pretty far south) have appeared to be more like southeast Asians than like most recent native Americans. So I think the Wiki entry is likely to be pretty accurate.

I haven't read any technical literature about the great sweet potato migration, but Tim Flannery explained it in "The Future Eaters." The potatoes are definitely native to North America, and they seem to have moved all the way across the Pacific (including Hawaii and New Guinea) before Europeans could have done it. In New Guinea, the new veggies set off a demographic revolution, resulting in very high population densities. The island may have been isolated from the technologies of world civilization, but the local farming systems were exceedingly productive--if I remember Flannery correctly. Ironically, Australia was a terribly unproductive place for farming, and Flannery warns that it still is.

Splendid, RD.

Cassandra, I agree that we all ought to be talking about the war, and that includes the presidential candidates. I object to having candidate "debates" now -- I think it is too early for that.