{Two more secret messages to Joel: Check

"deserve to duct taped" and "ofbillions"}

Something's wrong with frenetic arm waving???

:-O

Great kit Joel.

This is a great kit. Joel, you really nailed it.

About time we start standing up for the positive things this country has to offer! Joel for president?

I mean, for a known Commie Pinko.

(Sorry, just a little campaign triangulation.)

I agree, dmd, great kit. I'm not so worried about the long run as the short run. If we can survive the next year and a half, I think the people will speak, that solutions must be found for global warming, for energy, for the mess in Iraq and the Middle East, for education and terrorism and health care and...et cetera.

It's a tall order, but is it any taller than what FDR faced in 1932? Or in December 1941? Or in the Cuban Missile Crisis?

Leadership, it's all about leadership. I hope the right person is running for president, one who will be on par with Washington, Lincoln, FDR, Churchill. Dunno who that is, just yet.

Apart from the disparaging of arm waving, 'tis indeed a great Kit.

:-)

I won't comment on the article directly, but I do feel that there a number of serious problems that the country seems unwilling to face: the funding gap in Social Security, the failure of the insurance company approach to health care, and dependency on foreign oil, to name a few. These are not new problems, and neither party has the political will to tackle them seriously. The politicians are so beholden to special-interest money, vs. the desires of the voters, that they can't do anything more than tinker around the edges. A new election may eliminate some of the more immediate problems, but will not produce a chief executive or crop of legislators equipped otherwise.

Ahem. Let me address a particularly annoying statement of McQuaid referenced by Joel.

"Outsourcing eliminates incentives to perform well and shields contractors from accountability."

This is a silly statement. If feds screw up they rarely get fired. They typically keep their jobs and generous benefits. What usually happens is that they get moved to another assignment where they are given the opportunity to screw up all over again, often in new and innovative ways.

If contractors screw up they lose their contract, and, often, any hope of getting work in the future. In fact, one of the reasons why we like contractors is because it is nice to work with people whom you can fire.

Further, if done properly, a healthy reliance on contractors guarantees that the government has access to those with highly specialized skills in a way that is much more efficient and cost effective, not less.

Of course, this is only true if the feds who supervise contractors do their jobs correctly. It is up to them to make sure that the contractors are fulfilling the Statement of Work and not doing anything without proper authorization. Further, it is the requirement of the feds to give an honest evaluation of contractors and resist political pressure to favor one contractor over another.

This is why I think it is the patriotic duty of each and every right-thinking American to lobby his or her elected officials to ensure that all those who supervise contracts are well compensated, given spacious accommodations, and free coffee.

For those brave men and women who supervise government contractors are truly the unsung heroes of our great nation.

J: We obviously have serious infrastructure problems. The situation in Iraq is a tragic fiasco.

L: Not infrastructure, but a political problem, as well as a misuse of inellligence problem. Also, a planning problem a la Shinseki, if you're looking at a military solution. Most definitely a leadership problem.

J: The Katrina aftermath has been a disgrace.

L: Since we're not talking about the levees, then we're talking about emergency response--essentially a political and management problem.

J: The Minneapolis bridge collapse shocked us all.

L: Becoming clearer it was a problem of consruction, coupled with add-ons to the equation: the weight of asphalt and repair equipment. An engineering miscalculation problem.

J: The real problem (and perhaps this is really what McQuaid is saying) is that we have become, in many instances, a Won't Do Nation. We want the benefits of a modern transportation infrastructure, for example, but we won't pay for it.

L: Then it really isn't an infrastructure problems as much as a fiscal and budgetary problem and an attention to maintenance and potential problems problem. And a management problem.

Number One: Misdirected resources problem.

Number Two: Who needs shoelaces when you have lycra Keds or Velcro?

Number Three: Muddled crises lumped together--1814, military; 1837, financial, 1979, energy--environmental resources and consumption of oil, political.

Number Four: Same as number three. Muddled. Bay of Pigs, CIA debacle; followed by two political crises; and engineering crisis for the shuttle disaster.

Number Five: The recent Cockersham story also shows we have a bribery-contractor crisis, with our local paper reporting that the $15 million may just be the tip of the iceberg. So do we have a human morality crisis? That's new?

Number Six: Political glibness crisis (and lack of subsantive policy discussions)?

Number Seven: Perhaps McQuaid shoould have added an extra graf. Or was his op-ed cut? Maybe it was a column inch crisis?

Number Seven: Willpower is good. Positive action in support of goals is better. Just ask any dieter or alcoholic. Rah, rah, U.S. of A. Right. Some countries do things better; some, worse.

Wow RD, at the end of your post I heard a glorious fanfare in my head, never again will I underestimate the value of those who supervise government contractors!

I wrote this post a few days ago and deleted it before posting, but now it's sort of on topic. I didn't use my regular boodle-handle because I'm not sure I'm allowed to talk about this.

A few years ago the Virginia government decided it would be a great idea to centralize all the procurement and maintenance of computers for state agencies under a single, new agency (VITA). This was kind of like the motor pool, in which VITA actually owns all the state computers. Individual agencies could no longer purchase their own computers, or even hire an IT person to maintain equipment or address software issues.

This immediately caused all kinds of problems. VITA doesn't give agencies administrator passwords, so if you want to install, say, a software upgrade, you have to put in a request and then wait 2-4 days. Same thing if your computer crashes and burns, which they do with stunning regularity. VITA also controls all the ethernet lines, and monitors them, so if your computer breaks down, you can't bring your own laptop from home and plug it in--that's a security risk.

(incidentally, on an odd note, VITA doesn't recognize Macs as computers--they're "A/V equipment". For agencies that already owned Macs, VITA refused to support them and refused to allow agencies to hire someone to support them--but also refused to replace them with Windows machines.)

Then, the state decided that they couldn't really afford VITA, so they contracted it out to Northrop-Grumman.

Now the bill has come in. For one small state agency with which I'm familiar, VITA support for the coming year will cost approximately $2500 per employee (or $2500 per computer). The bill is actually so high that this agency could hire a full-time IT person with benefits, buy each employee a new computer, and buy the necessary software site licenses, EVERY YEAR. The agency could probably get by on half the amount that Northrop-Grumman is charging.

The VITA bill has to come out of the agency's budget. Since the legislature won't increase the budget, the agency has to either raise the money privately or cut its budget in other areas in order to pay Northrop-Grumman.

But government outsourcing is a GREAT idea!

Lycra keds have shoelaces!

Joel is highlighting a difference between "can't" and "won't."

There are problems that we truly can't do anything about. Like volcanoes. Then there are problems that we won't do anything. Like Social Security.

The statement that someone doesn't *want* to do something isn't the same as saying they *can't* do something.

Any parent of a teenager understands this distinction.

Am trying to understand the Keds-Lycra item within the others.

dmd,
I know little of these shoes, these lycra Keds. Thanks for the correction. Given the number of typos or SCCs, it's obvious that getting up be fore 5 a.m. is doing me no good now. I need sleep. My eyes now are squinty. Coffee won't help.

I think this Kit is not so good, contrary to what others of you believe.

ZZZZzzzzzz...

Semi-regular boodler - The solution is to compete this contract and not accept a Sole Source Justification. Also, who is the COTR for this? They can make an evaluation that the government isn't getting good value, to which the government is *legally* required to respond. The system should work if everyone does his or her job properly.

Of course, there's the distinction between "Won't Do" and "Want Someone Else to Do at No Cost to Me."

*SIGH*

I would love to be an earwig inside Henry Petrovski's brain just now. He writes intelligently about design, design failure, re-design, and imagine this: engineering hubris.

Off-topic to Raysmom, concerning comfortable shoes:

http://www.shoes.com/product.asp?p=5008796&variant_id=53212

I own a pair of these, and they are the most comfortable I have ever worn. I also just bought a pair of Merrell walking shoes, which are ugly as sin and took some breaking in but are working out well for me. I recommend them.

Good morning, all.

martooni, I was thinking about you when I read this Kit, my man.

Yesterday, I was talking with a friend about alcoholism, and considered her position that individuals (like yourself)dealing with the disease aren't so much faced with choosing the "right road" to travel, but are faced with a tighrope walk. Every step is difficult, requiring focus, thought and effort in order to stay up there. And balance is important, but it doesn't matter which side of the rope you fall off because it all leads to the same place.

Anyway, the metaphor resonated with me, so I thought I'd pass it along.

We're here for you, martooni, and we want you to stay up where you belong.
I believe You Can Do It, and so do a lot of other folks around here.

bc

New innovations and new technology can bring new solutions.

Zippers eliminated buttons, for example.
Velcro can eliminate shoelaces. Electricity and light bulbs banished the darkness. Yada, yada, yada.

But as promising as these new technolgies are, they can also have pitfalls. I understand the Minneapolis bridge was devised with CAD--computer-aided design. But were the problems of the Minneapolis bridge due to software drawing tools, or lack of stress testing, or old bridge building methods applied to a new design, that lacked happened to lack the tried and true test of having redundancy? Ot just plain ol' human error?

In response to the statement: The United States seems to have become the superpower that can't tie its own shoelaces.

I was joking a bit and also playing a bit of the devil's advocate. Zzzzz...

i felt the earthquake because i was sleeping lightly and woke up. i'd forgotten about it until i read loomis's post.

Jumping off topic, I find both this headline and the article distubing, such a negative spin on the story.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/08/09/minority.counties.ap/index.html

I would suggest we have become a "Won't trust them" nation. Our sense of community of who belongs in the "We" and who belongs in the "Them" is fractured. Instead of the "We" expanding as our GNP has expanded because of the many "Them's" who go by the names of parttime labor, private contractors, etc. our sense of "We" has become tighter, and no more egalitarian. Was it this way in the past. I think as we were more culturally monolithic, stable, over greater groups of networks, the "We" was larger.
However things change because the "We" for various incentives has the power and opportunity to stick our fingers in other people's pies, and we let them have some of ours, at retail? wholesale? Anyway, the change is inevitable, but taking care of the trust between all the little "We's" and "Them's" is supposed to be everyone's responsibility, because in theory everyone would benefit, and so this means no one cares.

can't do or won't do - the results are still the same.

the u.s. should be able to do a lot better on many issues.

This is the original headline that bothered me, it has sinced changed.

"Whites a minority in one in 10 U.S. counties " The actual article say almost one in ten.

RD, :-)

Good kit, Joel.

I was especially struck by something in McQuaid's piece that you highlighted, which were Newt Gingrich's comments. Two things stood out:

1) "'[S]ystem-wide' government breakdown that includes health care, defense, intelligence and disaster response." OK, if this is what Gingrich sees, then why doesn't he criticize and hold accountable (i.e., blame, point fingers, name names, etc.) the people running the government that is breaking down. Lemme see, that would be...uh...Bush, Cheney, Neocons, Conservative Republicans, and similar persons of Gingrich's own political stripe. These people have been in office six and a half years, so this breakdown would seem to be occurring on their watch, no? Perhaps they are just doing a lousy job running things?

2)"He says the New Deal, Great Society structure of 'big government' has, in effect, stopped working." Well, if that's true, maybe it has a wee bit to do with the fact that Gingrich and his ilk have done their best to try to dismantle, hamstring, de-fund, dismantle, break up, deride, eviscerate, countermand, destroy, de-populate, and sabotage the ND, GS and BG.

I don't get it: when he says the ND/GS/BG is no longer working, is that a complaint on his part or a celebratory claim? After all he was claiming the same thing, or else predicting it, way back in 1994 when the ND/GS *was* working--and he was promising to destroy it.

So the idiots in the Republican Party have got what they wanted: they broke the government. And now they get to whine about it being broken? They can kiss my ...

The Repubs have been saying for years -- decades -- that "government doesn't work," that they don't believe in government, etc., etc. Well, if you don't "believe" in government, how can you run for office and claim to be the best person to try and run one of the d@mn things?

I have NEVER understood why anyone would vote for a person who says, upfront, that he doesn't believe in the thing he is running to lead. Who the he11 wants somebody in charge of an organization he doesn't like, doesn't think works, and doesn't have faith in?

And we wonder why Katrina and Iraq were disasters?

I don't think we're a Can't Do Nation. It's only that we're being led and administered by a Can't Do Administration, that's all. Soon as we get the silly buggers out, we can all get back to work rebuilding and inching forward (if ever so slowly).
-----------------------

On a minor related note, I loved this: "This is why I think it is the patriotic duty of each and every right-thinking American to lobby his or her elected officials to ensure that all those who supervise contracts are well compensated, given spacious accommodations, and free coffee." Padouk, ya made me snort some of that free coffee.

And on an even more related note (pardon me raising my voice) TODAY IS THE 33RD ANNIVERSARY OF RICHARD MILHOUS NIXON RESIGNING IN TOTAL ABJECT DISGRACE! Yeeeehah!

Ah, now *there* was a good day in American history. I really enjoyed the he11 outa that one.

Yeah, what Moose said. I normal thirty minute commute turned into an hour and 50 minutes. Half of that standing in the heat waiting for a bus that was twenty five minutes late. Twenty of those minutes it was a block away just sitting there at the corner.

I HATE supsicious packages.

BTW, I'm as concerned for and fond of martooni as anybody here, but can we leave the poor guy alone for a while now? I think maybe we're in danger of a little too much "piling on" and none of us wants to drive the guy away. He knows we want the best for him, but I'm afraid the browbeating is getting to be a little much.

Just a thought.

Just another thought, Martooni.

When I was in Africa (and certainly before I went there), and especially when I was visiting some Maasi villages, I was very much aware of the high incidence all over the continent of female genItal [in case the wirty dord people are out] mutilation (FGM) which is practiced, even though even there it is illegal. Those who practice it do it (it is said) out of keeping a "tradition" going. If those who came before them did it, then I must do it, too.

My thoughts and discussions with Africans I met (the men hated it, BTW), suggested to me that if indeed "tradition" was so important to uphold, why can't a new and different tradition, one that is not so abusive and sometimes deadly to girls and women, be created? Substitute one for another.

In that light, consider your issues with alcohol a "tradition" -- no matter what your initial trigger was. And, I'm not suggesting that you substitute one addiction for another. I've looked at your web site -- you are very talented. Consider creating a creative tradition in place of the alcohol -- one where your talents as a writer and as a woodworker can be used directly as a buffer - the kind of buffer you think that alcohol gives you.

See, we're not in the role of being your therapist. We don't charge, but we do, well, interfere with all sorts of suggestions and comments -- and that may very well be annoying to you. I must say that whenever anyone says to me "you should" or "why don't you?" I politely (gritting my teeth) tell them that I'm old enough to make my own choices and live with the consequences,thank you very much. Perhaps you do the same thing.

We do wish you well. At the end of the day, your life and your choices are indeed up to you. And we still wish you well.

I like these two grafs from Broder's column (though I hate the headline):

"The one thing on which the polls are clearest today is that this country is ready to turn the page on the Bush-Cheney experience. If ever there has been an administration that has outstayed its welcome, exhausted its energies and spent most of its original ideas, it is this one. People on the inside are holding on by their thumbs, and the country's patience is about exhausted.

"Almost without trying, the Democrats can represent change. Their challenge will be to remove the element of risk or danger from that change. That is always a crucial test for the opposition party."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/08/AR2007080802116.html?hpid=opinionsbox1

Mudge, I'm a "Better Do It Late Than Never" kinda guy.

What's your position on belated Birthday cards? ;>)

bc

Good morning, boodle.

Yes, thanks for that laugh, RD...I too also heard a marching piece of music with lots of brass as I read your post.

As far as the *can't* or *won't* conundrum, I think Scotty's right. Somehow in this country we've drifted into a mentality of *not on my dime and not in my backyard* which politicians regrettably pander to....I don't think we can let the American public off the hook by just blaming politicians who aren't making the tough decisions. Your average Joe doesn't want to hear what he doesn't want to hear. Truthtellers don't get elected.

Mudge - I was just a kid, just a kid, I tell you, but that day 33 years ago was a good day for America and I remember it well!

At the risk of suggesting a simple Grand Unified Theory to describe such a wide range of topics, I believe that much of this is because America is so politically divided. It is nearly impossible to get consensus on what is important, and what is not.

For example, Joel points out missile defense as a wasteful program. And I enthusiastically agree, but there are many who feel otherwise. When you have hundreds of voices all clamoring to be heard, it is difficult to figure out what needs to be done first.

And since we *won't* pay for everything we *can't* do all of them. So how do you find consensus? As I have suggested before, the traditional way is to wait for something really bad to happen. But is this crisis-driven process really the best way to run things? Can't we figure out something better?

Lew Dobbs, John McQuaid or anybody can think of something that hasn't been done, hasn't been done correctly, shouldn't have been done, etc. Only because this is the USA is it almost always true that what ever the issue is could have been done right. The same is not true for any other place or people in history. We often make mistakes, sometimes with grave consequences, but in almost all cases when we realize those consequences we start correcting the mistakes (note the Superfund cleanup, acid rain, mine safety, reclaiming wetlands and many others). Obviously we have not always reacted as quickly or as completely as some would want (see Lew Dobbs & John McQuaid above) but then again simply because someone shouts that the "sky is falling" doesn't mean it actually is or that we have to stop everything else and deal with it.

I'm not sure it's as much Can't Do as much as Rising Expectations. Our standards are so much higher. Compare any new suburban feeder road with what passed for an interstate 30 years ago.

I work in an industry where a four hour outage is a disaster. We do some amazingly high tech stuff in the US because we can. Part of the reason we have outsourced our entire manufacturing capacity to the Third World is that it is too easy.

Regarding Nixon. I think everyone should read "Breach of Faith" by Theodore White. Even though it lacks some more recent revelations, it is probably the most insightful book about Watergate I have ever read. And the way it describes the Nixon White House (limited access, intolerance of alternative viewpoints, paranoid secrecy) strongly anticipates the foibles of the Bush/Cheney White House.

was just checking the weather online. my lord it's hot in the south and the southeast.

keep cool folks. hope the gummint gives y'all some free iced coffee.

Great kit.

As a competing Grand Unified Theory, there is the competition between immediate gratification and less tangible efforts towards longer term goals.

No joke, LA Lurker. I watered the impatiens and hostas at 9:30 this morning and sweat was running down all over me, just standing in the shade holding the hose. We broke the record here yesterday, and tomorrow's first forecast said the high would be 104. Hopefully, the heat wave will break by Saturday.

Italians don't pay taxes, so the country's broke. How about a giant image of Madonna on the Duomo in Milan?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opinion/2007/08/08/do0804.xml

Yet the country exports amazing ceramic tile from brand-new high-tech factories that manage to compete against Spain, Brazil, and any number of other competitors.

They still seem to make a few high-quality shoes . . . but what of pharmaceuticals?

One of the problems with public service in the US is personnel recruitment. The Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton, set up for public service, has terrible problems because hardly any of Princeton's students are interested in public service. Finance seems to be where the money is.

Some of the original I-4, near Plant City west of Tampa, was replaced a few years ago. The original had steep, narrow little bridges and was otherwise quaint.

I suspect that better (and vastly more expensive) road design has had the unwanted effect of allowing fewer miles to be rebuilt or constructed, so that we end up with short stretches of wonderful highways and long stretches of obsolete/crowded highways.

On the other hand, I resent complaints that urban officials' interest in passenger rail is hurting road construction. Orlando has discovered that more traffic can't be squeezed into the city--I-4's as wide as it can get. So the just-announced rail system from DeLand in the north to Poinciana (beyond Kissimmee) in the south is overdue. Now how about a monorail to the University of Central Florida campus, which serves over 50,000 students?

A big ole nasty Tstorm is going on now headed East. It may bring some relief to the heat, but be careful everyone it is quite nasty.

Back-boodling, RD asks about the COTR for a project; recalled Companion of the Rabbits.

DotC,
When I just moved to Tampa in 1987 I was at a blueprinter's office and they had a full set of plans for the rebuilding of I-275 from the Howard Franklin through the I-4 interchange. As of late June, it still hasn't been done. Is that Can't Do or We'd Rather Build More Highways Through The Everglades?

They were building some massive interchange between the Courtney Campbell and the airport so that that traffic snarl could get untangled.

I was also living in Tampa when the Sunshine Skyway got hit by a ship and fell in the Bay. The replacement bridge, which never would have been built otherwise, is a gorgeous engineering marvel. Too often Good Enough lingers along until Gotta Do Something makes it necessary.

RD, your 10:45 on achieving consensus on *which* problems to solve was beautiful. Because if we were to try to solve every problem that's on the table right now, we would exhaust the country's collective resources. Even if it's only $50 additional per person each year, add enough of these, and everyone's broke.

Within the context of this topic, you may be interested to check out the Government Performance Project, which describes itself thusly- "A non-partisan, independent research program housed within the Pew Center on the States, the Government Performance Project evaluates how well state governments perform their basic management functions and explores how this research can be used by states to serve citizens better." These folks compare the states and grade them A B or C. It can be found at http://ww.gpponline.org and it came as something of a surprise to see that only two states were given the top grade of A-, Utah and Virginia.

http://www.gpponline.org

And I live in Virginia.

And lest I be accused of being anti-tax, when I read the headline that Bush opposes a 5 cent a gallon gasoline tax increase to fund infrastructure improvements, my reaction was "you Richard Cranium." My point is that if you take on enough new projects/programs and fund them, you do reach a breaking point economically.

nice. california and alabama tied for worst (C-).

Our nation and in most ways the world are facing three overarching crises:
1. 5-10 years -- a permanent and widening world wide oil shortage
2. 10-20 years -- a financial meltdown over runaway healthcare/retirement expenses.
3. 20-40 years -- mass starvation and resettlement due to global warming

All of these can be solved best within the American economic system and represent millions of good, permanent, on shore jobs. What is needed is for the Middle Class which has seen their purchasing power dramatically eroded to get off their duffs and not only vote for but give money to candidates who will go after these issues. A contribution of only a few dollars a month will take back our country and put us on the path to greatness again.

That Tstorm gwe warned us about is pounding Frederick now, and will soon hit Bmore and EllicottC. Doesn't really look like it'll be headed towards DC.

Can't and Won't, but perhaps we should add another category of those that see a personal benefit.

http://www.timesleader.com/news/20070808_08_FHL_SUMMIT_JL_BIZ_ART.html

U.S. Rep. Paul Kanjorski, D-Nanticoke, speaking at a regional economic summit at the University of Scranton on Tuesday, warned of a growing anger among constituents and a threat to the survival of the republic unless pressing issues of immigration, the Iraq war, the widening gap between rich and poor and the nation's crumbling infrastructure are addressed by lawmakers.

I found it interesting to read of his pique in the governement funding of the repair of the Minneapolis bridge.

I guess he is miffed that he currently is not getting his full share of the inequity.

'The system should work if everyone does his or her job properly.'

Well said RD. I'm not sure how it goes there, but up here, that is exactly where the fundamental problem is.

If there are no consequences, like being fired, demoted, fingers slapped, being sent to your room, for doing poorly at something that has been assigned, the system encourages poor performance. Supervisors are always tasked with making sure that the job is being done right, but when a supervisor has come from within that system through promotions, and has always worked with no consequences...(taking big breath) and his department head has come from within that system and so on and so on. Well you can see where this goes.

Somewhere along the line, with respect to performance, the government bureaucracy has forgotten that it has to respond to poor performance to the point that no matter how much care an individual takes, the net effect is well, ineffective.

Well at least that is what I see from my contacts with government personally and professionally. Great individuals working under the burden of a culture of ineffective behaviour.

I see some changes, but there is a long way to go.

Interesting point on the GUTs, RD.

What can we get accomplished when we have competing interests, goals, priorites?

Leg one of the GUT is what I propose we call the Padouk Disagreement Principle: If a person knows *exactly* what is in a particular document regarding actually *doing* anything (be it a proposed bill before a legislative body, or a project plan, or a contract), if a second person looks at that document, they will not agree *exactly* with whatever the first person thinks that document means. The value of this disagreement is directly proportional to the chances of whatever the document for action proposes ever actually coming to pass. In other words, something where 51% of people agree on what a document means (in a general sense, of course), the more likely it is to happen. Before you decide you think you actually understand exactly what this principle means, let me state categorically and for the record that I disagree, and that I think you should look at the other legs of this GUT, below.

The second leg is bc's Apathy Principle: If someone looks at that same document and a: does not care, or b: are largely unaware of its contents or c: even its existence due to some sort of apathy, the more likely it is to be adopted, passed, and executed by some other group or person. Apathy can be a huge asset, if managed properly.

The third leg is the [This Space for Rent] Value Exclusion Principle (naming rights are available for this Principle through bc Industries) of the Padouk Disagreement Principle: The more people in a group agree a document should be adopted for passage or implementation (which can only be passed if people in that group are uncertain of or disagree on *exactly* what the contents of said bill or document *are,* or what it means, or there is a significant degree of apathy available to drive it through), the less actual value or benefit it is likely to derived from it (see the Iraq War).

The fourth leg is the Achenbach Bad Information Theory: Bad Information Happens. Sometimes Bad Information is based on lies, sometimes on misunderstandings. Any document based on Bad Information will be believed by someone somewhere, because most of the time, it's more interesting than scientific, empirically derived information. Interesting documents are more likely to be addressed and taken seriously by larger groups of people than uninteresting documents, making them more likely to gain adoption or passage (see legs 1-3 above) (see also the Iraq War) (see also "The Secret" and "The Da Vinci Code").

The fifth leg is the Curmudgeon Principle: The best way to get anything done is to be in the right place at the right time. Sometimes you need to add a well-timed shove, sometimes you just need to stand back and watch. The key to Curmudgeon's fifth leg is knowing the difference.

bc

Considering everything else I feel about ineffective government, if given a choice, this is continent is still the only place I would actively shoose to live. We have flaws, but they don't outweigh the very very good things we have.

Such as choice.

I liked your 10:53 yellowjkt. And Joel's kit is refreshing. It's about time to say some positive things about our country. Debates are good for us. I for one wouldn't want to live anywhere else. We have many problems, yes, but what country doesn't. And we have freedom of speech...the greatest right of all.

Packing, packing, packing. Right now, I and the rest of the ScienceHousehold are packing the ScienceHome for the Big ScienceMove to the exciting new (well, 28 years' young) contemporary-styled ScienceLair. Woo-hoo! Talk about Can-Do Spirit.

In other news: the Outsourcing Desktop Initiative for NASA (ODIN, a nested acronym) is basically like VITA: an expensive solution to a fake problem in order to solve the real psychological problem of a manager who feels he needs to enlarge his fiefdom. It makes life easier for some upper-level mucky-muck ("I have streamlined provision and oversight of IT services.") at the expense of making operations more expensive, more difficult, and less satisfactory in the outcome for every single person below the mucky-muck's level in the agency -- except for folks like Mo, who call this sort of program "job security" (I know -- she told me so!).

We have a work-around that enables us to buy our own computers, and even to make them Macs, but I won't tell you what it is, for fear that someone will close the loophole.

Mudge... thanks. You pretty much nailed it.

Curmudgeon has a fifth leg? I've heard of two, four, six, eight, and ten legs, rarely of a third leg (in a Ron Jeremy kind of context), but never of a fifth leg. Maybe a starfish? Crippled cockroach?

Well said you nailed it. Tax cuts, keep more of your money in your pocket, and the goverment should sent your money. This is what you get, coming from a third world nation where nobody pays taxes just wait and see.

yellojkt,
Brevard County's road fiasco is connecting the Pineda Causeway (from Satellite Beach and Patrick Air Force Base to the mainland) to I-95. It's been in planning forever.

After planning had been completed, the Florida East Coast Railroad let the county know that they wouldn't allow a four-lane grade crossing. Understandable, since the road should have been limited-access anyway.

Brevard is a classic Florida county in that whenever a road, high school, or whatever might actually get built, the voters revolt and cut taxes.

The sky threatens but the weather map suggests we will NOT get the rain we want or need.

So hot that despite watering, the Heavenly Blues and Red Sail morning glories opened, sorta, then closed witheringly. Bloomus interuptus.

Good points on both sides of the argument, but with a culture rife with corruption and a look the other way as long as it doesn't affect me attitude... we have become more and more a 'C.Y.A. Nation' of people too consumed with their own personal prosperity (especially our government officials) and covering our asses and letting the next guy take the blame for our failures... Accountability, Accountability, Accountability...
Someone from the N.Y. Times made the comparison of the current administration (and really, it applies to much of the country on many levels) to a motorist who gets caught speeding and then successfully lobbies to change the speed limit every time he gets caught so that he's never guilty of anything... How many times have we as a society "changed the rules" to justify our behavior...?!!! And the myth goes on and on...

I completely agree with the article but would add that there are reasons we are a "Won't Do Nation" and that is the priorities set by the admnistration. Kennedy wanted to send a man to the moon and cared that it happened. NASA did not go out and hire political friends and cronies. It didn't hire college grads from Regents University and Liberty College with no expertise. It cared that the job got done properly and so they hired competent people, even people many questioned like Von Braun. But in those days getting it done properly was a priority and one set by Kennedy and later Johnson.

Today we see incompetence everywhere in this administration. We have people with no emergency preparedness skills writing the National Emergency Response directives and they are doing so without talking to the local responders in the states and localities, probably because they would immediately be called incompetent, so its being done in secret. You can watch the Frontline episode where they reviewed Paul Bremmer's stint as head of the CPA in Iraq. You had guys right out of college told they were in charge of the Interior ministry and to get it up and running. Amazing.

No, we can be a Can Do Nation but a nation needs leadership to make it so. Today we have none of that, and worse, an administration that does not care, or recognize, that it is failing. Not even embarassed after their failures following Katrina. Yes, I put all the blame on Bush and other neocons and politicians who put personal issues of friendships and money before they sworn public duties. Americans need to more carefully elect their leadership and political parties need to weed out those who care more for themselves, their friends or their party more than they care for the USA and their constituents.

I truly believe super-caffeination and getting more sleep would help America step up to the plate. We'd all think more clearly.

The reality is I had a double shot of espresso about 15 minutes ago, and it still hasn't worked. In college, I drank a can of Coke for breakfast every morning and was fine all day. In my last job, pouring heavily iced Diet Pepsi over instant coffee and stirring briskly worked incredibly well. Two years ago, diet Pepsi with chocolate syrup and a lemon wedge worked. Now, I don't know if it's the 2 separate beeps last night or age, but I may have to go to intravenous, a patch or something. If you shower with caffeinated soap, does it leak in?

On the plus side, in the past day I've received several phone calls and e-mails from one of the primary technology companies in the known Universe. My resume isn't out on the Net or with recruiters, so I'm not sure how they found me. They've asked me to look into my heart and come up with my dream job and then talk with them about how we might fit together. I wasn't looking, but unexpected possibilities are a wonderful thing. I'm going to talk with them. If nothing else, this will kickstart me to the plate (how's that for a metaphor) of finding a job that totally speaks to me.

I hope Yoki won't mind if I share her reaction, which was as good as the calls: "Oh, how exciting! Actually, my dear, they've been meaning to call you for *months* but, knowing your legendary greatness in the IT field, became nervous and unsure of how you would receive the approaches of such a measly, snivelling little start up! They finally screwed their courage to the sticking point, as they find they simply can't keep operating without you.

You know I'm right."

Love you too, Yoki!

Really, really dark clouds approach from the north west. With a 9mph SE wind I suspect that Tstorm may make a liar out of me.

CP I feel your pain, my plants have suffered scorchitis.

Some of the points raised today reminded me to read an article I had seen on the state of the worldwide middle class - with an emphasis on the Canadian Middle class. It is part of a series on the status of the middle class around the world, and the on going changes included new vs. old middle class. In particular I found the reason why Canada's middle class has grown interesting if not somewhat disturbing to me.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20070803.doug04/BNStory/International/home

Omni, I think we work near each other.

kguy, Mudge is a scurvy old sea dog, don't you think?
But we digress, sir and we have guests from the link on the front page.

I think it's fair to assert that a Can Do Nation requires Can Do Leadership, as opposed to "How Can We Try To Do This As Cheaply, Quickly, Quietly, And Painlessly As Possible" leadership.

And speaking of the Iraq War, it's difficult to imagine how Bush expects to win this one, given that he has to keep his eyes on the costs of the war (in both human and resource terms).

Given that he started it with a bucket of Bad Ideas in one hand and a bucket of Bad Infrormation in the other (both from the same folks and not the usual people a president would turn to when considering such action), it's no surprise that folks Won't Do anything to help el Administracion Arbusto now.

bc

Joel,
Long-time, occasional, spotty reader (I like the ones about your brother), first time poster.

You said: Really? Vietnam was a smaller-scale problem? What about Watergate, when we discovered that criminals ran the country?

I say, yeah it was. So do dozens of Middle East experts, not to mention terrorism experts who have looked extensively into the hole that was Afghanistan in the early 80's, and realized the blowback which hit the US due to our misguided policies at that time, a blowback which, coupled with ignorant leadership (you get what you pay for) has lured us into the largest mistake this country has ever made, one which will have, (now, ten years, twenty years?) far more grave an impact than Vietnam ever had, unless of course, you happened to live in Cambodia in the 1970's, or be a currently homeless Vietnam vet.

As for the fact thaat things were worse then because we discovered there were criminals running our country? Dude, like, c'MON MAN, you work for the Washington Post, like, ah GOD, take a stroll down to Pennsylvania Avenue and like, WOW, look past the jersey barriers, through the wrought iron and view far more criminality than Nixon ever dreamed of. And at least, once Nixon was caught, he had to leave, because his aides had to testify because, after all, there was a Constitution then.

And at least Nixon met with Elvis...and bowled.

There are now, private contractors included, over 310,000 US troops/mercenaries in Iraq, and they been there for over four years and it is still not safe to go to the airport. That's large-scale.

Neil Young once said something like, you need a friend to tell you you are pissing in the wind. And Lou Reed says pissing in the wind comes back at you twice as hard.

I say, you're pissing in the wind.

PS. I admire the community you all got here. It's very folksy and nice, like things were growing up. Keep up the good work.

Sully, some good points but it kind of starts with getting people out to vote. Also, Canada would be a close second as a favorite country...and boodlers.

Dark clouds over Bethesda with high gusts and the temp has dropped, I swear, into the 70s. Oh drat! weather.com is showing a huge storm just missing us to the north heading east. Well, go outside and breathe the nice air while its here.

ChrissyO, thanks for jumping in (even if you don't agree). Nice to have you here and I'll try to post more items about the bro.

dmd, I'm with you. Interesting, a little disturbing and leaving me feeling I want and might need to know more.

Sky's getting dark and wind has picked up. Temp. is 93, no sign of it dropping dramatically (yet). Looking out my window, it's gotta be blowing 25 knots. Weather masp shows it just to our north, but my window shows it just overtop the petunia bed under the window.

The map also shows a classic, reverse J-shaped storm cell, the kind that spawns tornadoes just behind the tip (which is approximately where I'm sitting...)

Jeez, K-guy, I don't know what's worse--being compared to a crippled cockroach, or Ron Jeremy. If I hafta chose, I'll take the cockroach. Ron Jeremy is disgusting. *shudders*

Here off of the Dulles Toll road, it's coming down pretty hard at the moment, at at darn near a 45 degree angle, no less.

Saw a bolt of lightning hit a radio tower in the distance a few minutes ago, (about 5 miles away judging from the flash to the boom).

Mudge, you're no cockroach, and I can't - or won't - speak to the Hedgehog comparison.

bc

Enjoy your rain, Mudge, and try not to lord it over those of us who aren't getting any.

Currently: 100 degrees F
UV index 9 Very High
Wind WNW at 6 mph
Humidity 30%
Dewpoint 64 degrees
Pressure 29.89

Raining here in Bethesda. Not as dark as it was, though.

Raining here in Bethesda. Not as dark as it was, though.

Sorry about the double post. I'm not sure why that happened. I only clicked submit once.

A sad example of the Won't Do (or rather, Won't Fund) society. From the WaPo front page:

"Rhee: Students to Have Books"

This shouldn't have to be major news.

Mudge, I agree whole-heartedly with your ten something comment. Republicans don't believe in government, they believe in rich. Why vote for someone that does not believe in what he is voted to manage? And please, Newt G. I cannot embrace anything out that man's mouth. This is a person that went to the hospital (according to news report) to ask for a divorce from his wife that was suffering from cancer? No way. Not in this life or the one to come.

I plugged his blog yesterday, but today it is even more on-topic. David Brin has a running tirade called The War On Professionalism that posits that the current administration is deliberately trying to eviscerate and demoralize the civil service cadre.

http://davidbrin.blogspot.com/2007/02/more-on-war-against-professionalism-in.html

It's tough to refute and I'm not even on the public teat directly or indirectly anymore.

I don't like the sound of that Mudge.

ChrissyO, I think it may be premature to compare Iraq and the Middle East with Vietnam at this point (granted, McQuaid made the comparison first).

Though I don't think we should wait 32 years to worry about the size of the problems in Iraq. We've got problems due to our being there now, and we should act accordingly.

bc

No rain yet, but temp dropped 9 degrees in last half hour.

CrissyO, it would help you to re-check the math:

Americans killed in Vietnam, to no good purpose: 58,184, 350,000 wounded
Americans killed in Iraq, to no purpose: 3,683, approx. 27,000 wounded.

That's what makes Vietnam a bigger mess than Iraq.

So far, anyway.

As for the kit, JA, excellent. America with all its pimples and warts is still a good place to live. And I believe in my heart of hearts that we can rise to any occasion. The people of this country can do. They need leadership. They need the real deal. They need someone that does not need.

We need someone to fire up that energy. Someone that can steer us pass the corporate mafia, and greed. Profit yes, but not greed. Capitalism works, but has to be managed, and managed carefully. We have a tendency to get caught up in the profit game and don't have time for the details. And as RD says, the devil is in the details.

I believe in America. I truly do. It is my country, the land of my birth. Though I have been made to feel like an alien here, it is still my home. And not every one is cut from the same mold. There are still good people here. We have the potential to be whatever we set our hearts on. We lack oversight and we lack leaders that are willing to stand, and stand bravely, without fear. In the Bible, God chosen people were often brought to task for courting other lovers. When God got tired of their playing around, He often referred them to their lovers in hard time. We don't want that. Lovers have a tendency to go away when bad times set in. They are there for the fun, not the work.

Yeah Moose, I'm in Bethesda right next to Metro. How about you? And sully?

We got just enough rain to get everything wet. At first the drops were so tiny and few and spaced out that the warm pavement just evaporated them instantly.

Also it does feel to be about 70 some degrees, but probably in the low 80s and just feels cooler because of the sudden dif.

DMD -- water strategies on plants in heat stress. You likely know some of this.
POTs
Water morning and midday potted things UNLESS the pots are large enough to keep moist overnight. Then just water thoroughly in once per day. If working away from the house!!!, then water at morning/evening, unless the night temps are below 70. Lower than 70, you don't necessarily need to water and perhaps should not, at evening. Besides at lower temps at night, you can push plant toward molding. Many guides tell you to NOT water at night. However, the trick is more about watering correctly -- at soil level -- rather than the night time problem.

DO NOT WATER THE LEAVES! Water at soil level. This is very important for any plant that tends to mildew or fungal diseases.

For plants in the ground, much better to soak two/three days per week than water lightly every day. Especially for perennials, you need to water deeply, to force or accomodate deep rather than wide root growth. Again, try to avoid leaves.

(If you are using leaf(folar_ feeding of liquid fertilizer, better to do this in the spring, at much less the concentrations suggested. I don't suggest folar or liquid fertilizer feedings as a rule, since the chelating salts tend to accumlate in the soil eventually, rendering the soil less fertile. Better to use tricos like weak fish emulsion, manure tea, bunnypoo tea....we need to speak to RD about BPTea. NO DOG or CAT poo tea, but we all know that. Right, Wilbrodog?)

And, work in leaf mold and compost and perhaps fireplace ash into the beds in fall and spring. Better to slow fertilize than spray or spot fertilize. But potted plants need fertilizer boosts. Also, NEVER recycle soil from year to year. Start over! Avoid disease. Avoid depleted soil.

Now, having said this, in my conditions, I am watering some perennials every day.

Slyness, it is 102 here, and I don't have the other numbers, but we are under an extreme heat alert. I've just come back in from the hospital, and I had to open my mouth in order to breath. The air is so hot, it is oppressive. Nothing moving. It feels like one is in a bottle of some kind or a container where there isn't any air.

Every day the clouds show up, but move on. No rain. Of course, with the heat, when it does come, it will be a thunder boomer so hard we may all end up in shelters.

I'm a block north of the Metro on Wisconsin.

I am terribly proud of my bunnypoo tea.

CP like you I have had to water the perennials every day, they are all new, gardens were empty or newly created. Reading the local paper last night I discovered my area has only received 40% of the normal rainfall in the last 3 months (last 3 months total 100 mm).

Sadly the same article spoke about the RBG having a hard time dealing with their stressed trees and worse yet lilacs. The RBG does not as a rule irrigate the trees in the arboretum or lilac dell but have resorted to watering some this year. I will try to take some picture of the stressed trees around my place, if you look at the ones that are showing signs of stress you would think it was early September not August.

Like you I do not generally fertilize the gardens with the possible exception of slow release fertilizer used in the spring at my old house, the soil was so sandy there that fertilizer, compost and mulch were essentials.

For some of the gardeners here.

Is it possible for the water that we get from the city, tap water, to contain so many chemicals that it will kill the plants? My neighbor says the water killed her tomatoes and peppers. I think the cigarettes she smokes killed the tomatoes. I don't think tomatoes like cigarettes or the nicotine from the cigarettes.

I also think our country is still in shock. 9/11 was bad and something that had never happened to us before. It was scary, and for some, still that way. They want safety and assurance that it will never happen again. Can one person really give the people that? Can we really go to bed at night with the assurance that the people out there that hate us have been completely eliminated and that every thing is safe and well? And all this because of the leadership of one individual? I just don't understand, I really don't. And I want to understand.

dbG - cold process coffee. I recommend it highly.

Just never confuse the cold process coffee with the bunnypoo tea.

Cassandra, I do not believe one person, or any person for that matter can guarantee safety. Anyone that says they can is merely feeding on the fears of the public, all we can do is our best.

RD - I'm fairly certain the aroma would take care of that.

Cassandra -- highly unlikely that tap water is hurting tomats and peps. So many things can go wrong with tomats, especially if they are planted in the same place each year. RD?

RD -- quit the day job and sell that rich elixer brewed from beloved-bunny scat. The hyphen there is important. You love the bunny, right?; scat is a side benefit.

Moose and Pacifica are welcome-newbies. Both are gals; Moose is local; Pacifica is N. Ca. Moose works near Omni. Pacifica is a gov-crat.

Moose will appear at a boodle-meet up sooner than Pacifica, I bet.

Omni called it; the rain that came by College Park evaporated before hitting the ground. My plants are considering what do to about the fickle friend.

Murmur. Murmer. Whisper. Swearing, even!

I shan't tell them that the weather answers to no bloom.

Not only that CP, but I live in College Park.

Small world.

Moose, do we know each other? I live near the property that might be developed by the semi-threatening DC-area family.......

Yes, CP is right, Cassandra, you have to move tomatoes around so they don't get the diseases that build up in the soil. The water should be fine.

I bought two sasanquas last week and Mr. T planted them on Saturday. Fortunately, they are in the shade during the hottest part of the day. I'm watering them every other day.

Cassandra, I hope your sister is doing better.

The word on feeding on the fears of the people, from an acknowledged authority- "Naturally the common people don't want war. But after all, it is the leaders of a country who determine the policy, and it's always a simple matter to drag people along whether it is a democracy or a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. This is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and
for exposing the country to danger. It works the same in every
country."
--- Hermann Goering, Hitler's Reich Marshall, at the Nuremberg Trials after World War II.

Trying to resist the urge to mention Civet Cat Coffee...

..but I can't.

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/achenblog/2006/03/civet_cat_coffee.html

Enjoy this recycled cat Kit.

bc

The danger of watering 'maters is fungal infection of the leaves and the roots. I have experienced both. As CP says, if the leaves get too wet they will invariably sprout ugly spots, turn yellow, and die. This is traumatic to both plant and gardener. The best way to avoid this is to keep the leaves dry by watering close to the ground.

The other problem with watering is saturating the roots so that they undergo vascular collapse. This is "water wilt" and is what nearly did in beloved Mr. Stripey last year. It is caused by poor drainage, a real problem with heavy clay soil.

The best way to deal with this is to dig an enormous hole where you are planning to plant. (To avoid the trauma of last year, this year I dug down more than a yard.)

Anyway, then you break up all the clumps, remove the Civil War Artifacts, mix the soil with mulch and manure, and dump it all back into the hole before planting. (I strongly recommend bunny poo because you can use it without composting. I use lots cause I got lots.)

If you do these things watering shouldn't cause any problems.

I am beginning to thing those of us who garden on this blog may need group therapy we seem to take the health of our plants very personally.

*popping in*

Well, I'm excited by dbG's being approached and invited to design her dream job. You all should say something nice about it. dbG, just remember what Lucy said in a Peanuts strip circa 1966:

Lucy: When I'm in high school, on Tuesdays at noon, I'll be at the water fountain in the south corridor.

CB: Why are you telling me this now?

Lucy: What good is being sought after if you can't be found?

*popping out*

CP, perhaps you know the answer to this. Is it the heat that has, one by one, killed my rhododendrons over the past 5 years? I water regularly, but they just wilt and give up.

Slyness, will look for a local merchant that carries those shoes so I can try them on. Thanks for the tip.

Slyness, she's still in ICU waiting for the doctor's decision about her. She seems to be okay. I guess they just want to make sure. Her son and grandchildren arrived today. I will go back this evening, just too hot to be out now. Of course, at night it is still ninety and eighty degress, but much better than the hundreds.

Thanks for asking, Slyness.

Rhodies are very site-fussy. We are almost too hot for them, unless they get the right about of filtered sun/shading. Typically,they are placed too close to houses...and have trouble with radiated heat from brick and concrete...plus that is a water-starvation zone: too close to the house.

CP, I have a serious question about this gardening business. I notice you say, as do many resources, not to water foliage to avoid mould. But wouldn't the same thing be true of rain? I've never seen anybody fuss about rain drops hitting foliage, just human watering. I've never been able to puzzle out the difference.

CP, I only know you in the Boodle sense of the word. I am hoping to change that at a future BPH.

From what I remember of your earlier postings, you live near UMD. I live at the northern tip of CP (the *other* CP).

Yoki -- good question. This is more of a problem in hot areas, generally. I guess the dose is key. If you water heavily every day, hitting the leaves with a good dose -- and the temps/humidity are right -- you push toward mold and mildew and fungus.

(I don't think these are aa much a problem on the high prairie where you are.)

Also, this cautionary watering practice hopes to countervent this instance of stupidity of people:

watering the "leaves" with a noisy spatter of water can make a gardener BELIEVE that the watering is sufficient.

But, water is for roots!!!! So, water at soil level, being sure to give those roots a good soaking drink.

Besides, typically, rain patterns are not a daily deluge...unless you live near Rain Forest-land....or some parts of the Cascade Range that is a temperate rain forest.

Dave of C: Chime in?

bc, EF, here's a story about a tragedy:

http://www.wcnc.com/news/topstories/stories/wcnc-080907-jmn-DUI_crash.18ec2231.html

Moose--waving! CP-the-town is a long wedge of pie, isn't it? And, we have the lovely Route One-parking lot to contend with. We will have to meet on one of the bike paths or at my favorite diner: IKEA for a 99Cent breakfast.

Raysmom... they have those shoes at Nordstrom. They are, indeed, lightweight and incredibly comfortable. Once you try them on, you can probably get them online in different colors.

If you are traveling in the warm months, I just bought some Reef flip-flops that are comfortable enough to wear day and night (and I do!). The soft/sturdy soles provide a lot of support.

http://www.surfsidemailorder.com/p-2437-reef-girls-slap.aspx

Oh yeah.. good Kit.

Yoki, I concur with CP, here watering at night is generally discouraged, due to the higher humidity in the evenings the water sits on the foliage and if that occurs too often you get mould. Same would apply for grass, generally you water in the mornings here so they leaves will dry during the day and before the heat of the sun would evaporate the water as you water.

>bc, EF, here's a story about a tragedy:

Yikes. Stupid is as stupid does.

Off to drive CPBoy and CPB-bud to band camp. They are loading up on Advil because the bass drums are very heavy. Summer is over, really, once the madness that is marching band begins.

Moose, wave on the commute home!

PS -- the drummers are in a special coolness class...thank God, as getting them to go to camp willingly has not been easy. Sorry to you brass/wind guys and gals but DRUM LINE and the CADENCE CORPS RULE.

Thanks both CP and dmd. I get it now, and it is something that has bothered me for years.

I particularly like the workaround on stupidity. So many things are like that, aren't they?

Regarding the US can do spirit, if nothing else the US rules in online shopping, not a lot of opportunity to shop online here outside of a few companies. I am seriously envious, most US online stores do not ship across the border :-(.

To me a great achievement, if I never had to enter a shopping mall again I would be a very happy person, then again I amuse easily.

You and me both, dmd. I hate shopping, really. Except grocery shopping.

The other thing is, if you do get a US company who ships across the border, the customs duties and brokerage fees and GST are astronomical; only worth it for something reasonably expensive and impossible to procure in any other way. On less expensive items, the fees can easily double the price.

My son has been in band camp all this week, hot weather and all. They do the marching in the morning and practice the music indoors after lunch.

Tonight they are getting off early so they have time to go see the DCI show at a local theater. The DCI competition is a five hour satellite broadcast that starts around 7 which means it ends after his provisional license turns him into a pumpkin. That means I have to stay awake long enough to go pick him up.

Last year of marching band, so I just roll with the punches.

Good for you, yello. The day will come when you will look back wistfully on the times when you had to pick him up. But there will be other compensations.

Thanks for tip, TBG. Although it means I'll have to venture to Tyson's. Blech!

dmd, Yoki, and I are kindred spirits when it comes to shopping. If it can be found on-line, that's where I buy it. Christmas shopping is now so easy--one morning in front of the computer does most of it. Although my neighbors may think I've got something going on with the FedEx guy, he's here so often...

A couple of weeks ago, my son was at a Magic tournament in downtown Baltimore with a friend. The final game ran past midnight, so my wife made us go into town so she could ride shotgun in case he got pulled over for being out past midnight. Any ticket in the provisional period restarts the clock and she wasn't willing to risk him sneaking home.

His band's show this year is based around 'West Side Story' so I sing 'Maria' really off-key until it annoys him. Which doesn't take long.

And drums may make all the noise, but the saxes make the music. Word.

yello... in Virginia, those provisional license driving "curfew" hours don't apply if going to/from work or school event (which band camp qualifies as).

I'm just sayin'.

If America WON'T do, maybe we just need more meskins who will. I got the whole undocumented 'migrant thing figured out pretty good: First, we offer immediate citizenship to all undocumented 'migrants who register for the draft. Then we reinstitute the draft and let 'em go rebuild Iraq. We'll give 'em $34 a day, plus three hots and a cot, medical, dental and a free funeral when they gets blowed up. Option 2, which more directly addresses the "Can't find 'em" problem: Go to the big undocumented 'migrant rallies they hold now on May Day. Even better, next May Day we we send buses out with signs on 'em: Free Ride to the Undocumented 'migrant Rally. Then, straight to the border. We'll show them Irish we mean business!

Take the weather. It's hot, and nobody's doing anything about it.

In the old days we woulda...and then....

Joel, sorry I'm late, but you compare the GNP in 1967 with today and find an increase of about 16 times -- but that's not in constant dollars. In constant dollars, I reckon it's a little less than 3 times. Please, always do the adjustment.

Good kit.

I am interested in this view that contractors are quick to be let go, or quick to let go of their employees. Tis true contractors can't seem to hang on forever as civil servants will. Mr. F is flying to Atlanta next month to testify at the umpteenth hearing on a civil servant's complaint. This complaint was first lodged when the employee was sent home from Kuwait back in early '05-not fired, just not renewed in an assignment that was desireable primarily for the bonus pay. Apparently he can appeal forever and ever...So we know a little at Chez Frostbitten about how hard it is to get rid of incompetent government employees.

But, is it really a matter of "you screwed up, you're out" in the contractor world? (even sans union)

Re watering-CP is right about those container plants, they will need lots of water in these dog days. For the garden I water deeply once, perhaps twice a week, never more even in times of drought. Make those roots dig down and do their work. Plants that can't make it get the same heave ho Rainforest's sister gives hers. I find a lot of watering problems can be solved with soil amendments (a la RD) and proper plant placement. Shade those clematis roots with a nice companion plant. Plant everything very close together to shade out weeds and keep the soil cool. Above all else-in the DC area don't expect any more out of your plants in August than you do of Congress. There is a reason they take a month long recess this time of year, and your plants are more in touch with it than the over-airconditioned money chasing $%... oh yes, back to plants. I fear my tomatoes will never ripen. These were supposed to be cherry types, no bigger than golf balls. They've all swollen to tennis ball size and greater and are still as green as green gets. We could get frost before I eat a single one.

The Merrill slides are fabulous. I have them in a light spring green. I also have a pair of lycra Ked slides that are comfie as well, but the Merrills are better for long periods on your feet.

Today's quick summer menu. Polenta with locally grown portobello mushrooms and onions in a sauce I call Korean Reduction (uses many of the ingredients for my bulgogi marinade plus red wine). I had planned on having chicken, a roast chicken prepared at the store at that, but when I arrived there was no chicken. Not just no roast chicken, no chicken at all-not even lunch meat or the frozen breaded stuff I wouldn't buy anyway. I must thank the incompetent worker who didn't order chicken for our town's only store.

this is a boodle-skimming drive-by from work, but -

rd, do be so kind as to clarify the proper usage of bunny poo. tea? compost?

i'm sure i missed something important...

>And drums may make all the noise, but the saxes make the music. Word.

Right on brother. I played alto in the marching band and was voted Best Dancer in the band by the flag girls. Apparently I was the only one who'd actually ever SEEN the Average White Band play. :-)

Um, I would like to know why my comments are almost always ignored by regular boodlers? I do try to participate but you all seem to either not notice my comments or think I'm never worthy of a response. Guess I'm sensitive today and tired of being ignored. Am I doing something wrong? If someone doesn't respond to this then I will know I am not wanted here and will depart permanently.

TBG,

The school event exception will come in handy once the season starts, but tonight's DCI simulcast is strictly an optional entertainment event that the band director is scheduling around. Better safe than sorry.

Besides, this gives us an excuse to lightly chaperone the event. Band geeks are a rather randy incestuous group. Every girl my son has dated from the band has been connected to someone else in the band at some point, and not necessarily a guy. It's a phenomenon that perplexes him nearly as much as us.

birdie, don't get your feelings hurt. Post and they will eventually come.

Some wise Boodlers once compared this space to a cocktail party; little clumps of people having various conversations. Sometimes one group is deep in discussion of something I'm not interested in or not qualified to contribute to (everything pointy, for instance) so I back off, move on to another group. Eventually, somehow, a good time is had by all. Sometimes we actually all have one conversation, but not often.

I think it an apt analogy.

LA Lurker - bunnypoo tea is simply bunny poo steeped in water for a few days and then strained. (I always rinse the poo first to remove some of the concentrated urine.) What you get is a wonderful high-potency liquid fertilizer.

frostbitten - what I meant by "if you screw up you are out" is that if a contractor to whom the government is giving money violates the terms of the contract they will never get another one. At least not through me.

I will second Yoki's thoughts, please stay around. On behalf of the fellow Canadians I will thank you for your kind words earlier (birdie likes us she really likes us :-)).

birdie,
I want to thank you for your kind words of encouragement earlier. We have a great country and our neighbors to the north aren't too bad either. The boodle doesn't go for a lot of "me too's" so it is easy to assume people are ignoring you. For example, I've expected a lot of feedback on my David Brin link, especially since there are so many gummint related boodlers.

Sometimes it seems like the best way to draw attention is to be outrageously hilarious or exceptionally dysfunctional. I suspect I know which one I fall into.

You seem to be annoyingly normal and rational. Not that there is anything wrong with that. Please stick around.

birdie... your comments are enjoyed as much as any random commenter (ha ha ha), but sometimes we're too busy to say so. Stick around, please!

Just think how Joel must feel when we barely mention his Kit at all!

birdie, your posts are read and appreciated. I think we all feel like that sometimes.

While I'm at it, I should also say that I feel for boodlers that share their personal ups and downs, even if I don't always post about it. Hereinafter the maxim expressio unius est exclusio alterius shall not apply.

While on postings, I note that no one has commented on the fact that we were not invited to do guest kits this year.

'so I sing 'Maria' really off-key until it annoys him'

Kerric, if you are out there. See, I'm not the only parent who does this. See? Yello, full out loss of coffee there, bud. Nice.

Yoki, there are only going to be a few very sensitive plants that you will have to worry about if you water at night at your locale. With rare exceptions, you cool off enough at night.

For the rare plants where you do have to worry about mildew and fungus tendancies, making sure they get adequate ventilation usually takes care of things. Don't plant them in corners where there is no wind, avoid between buildings. In a lot of ways, gardening in Calgary is easy and in other ways, gardening in Calgary is like trying to garden at the North Pole.

Well, I feel better and thank you for your words of encouragement. I do like to contribute in my way to the stretching of the mind with usually witty-type responses. However, many of you often get carried away in your discussions and I usually don't have the time to get intimately involved. I'm also not a local in any of your far-ranging jurisdictions. But I have been keeping up with Joel's writing for at least 7 years...which even amazes me. The boodle has been an added treat...usually! Thanks again for your kind words.

birdie - let me add my support. Sometimes it is hard to engage another boodler until you get to know the person. You know, understand "where they are coming from." Like, say, Canada. Anyway, please stick around.

And, for what it is worth, I sometimes feel as though I am being ignored. Only, in my case, it's probably for a good reason. Not so with you.

SoC, you said that well. Boodling would be a full time job to really keep up. I read everything everday except on really intense political days.

TBG,, birdie is faster to type than Random Commenter. But nice to know you remembered. :-) BTW, I'm working at home again--haha--actually I do get a lot of work done because I have no interruptions. But it is rare to work at home for me because I have so many meetings to attend and run...I'm an IT project manager for a very busy Health System. We just opened a new hospital in April. Last year in the same month we instituted an EMR (electronic med record) for most of the inapatient record. Huge projects that go on and on. Okay, nuff about me. Back to my work on barcoded pt wristbands...among other projects!

When I lived in Portland, Oregon, I was amazed at the amount of mildew during the rainless summers. Evidently from dew forming at night and allowing spores to sprout.

Here in Florida, rain typically falls late in the day and things are likely to be wet all night. But there's little mildew. The rain must wash spores off the leaves.

birdie, you must be up to your wings in document management stuff.

There be monsters there. :-)

Hello, birdie. And please stick around. These folks do everybody that way, even the regulars. We read the posts, but in my case by the time I post, I've forgotten most of what has been said. And I repeat often because I forget.

You are not being ignored. I try to read all the post but sometimes my life get busy and I can't do that. I usually try to catch up in the mornings.

And no one stays on topic. This is a wild bunch, but oh, so, loveable.

Ditto to Birdie. Stick around.

I think the deep-watering is correct. There is no reason to sprinkle vegetable plants at all. Trickle water. A little fertilizer is far better than too much. I myself compost, so fertilizer is strictly optional, but they do respond well to a little of the strong stuff.

Curmudgeon scores again. Bravo; well said.

Birdie -- been meaning to type this, but I notice this as I am leaving the house and not at the computer. Birds. Birds. Birds -- all over the aging sunflowers. And, I think of you when I see them. My favorites are the many goldfinches. Now, they ignore my car when I drive up. But they do flit away so charmingly in undulated patterns. As soon as I close the front door, I see them flitting back. Sunflowers seeds on the menu.

Cassandra, tell your smoking neighbor never to smoke near or touch her tomato plants without washing her hands. Tomatoes are very sensitive to tobacco mosaic virus. That's probably why her plants died.

This is the article Dave Sheinin *really* wanted to write the other night...

Destruction Of National Pastime Given Two-Minute Standing Ovation

SAN FRANCISCO--A sellout crowd rose to its feet and exploded into ecstatic cheers Tuesday night as Barry Bonds completed the downfall of America's most revered sport by hitting a thundering 435-foot shot into the left field bleachers for career home run No. 756 and tainting baseball's most beloved record...

http://www.theonion.com/content/news/destruction_of_national_pastime

>I'm also not a local in any of your far-ranging jurisdictions.

Colorado, right? By my estimate you have a very large boodle-realm to rule - 49th parallel to OK, and from the Rockies to the Missippi (except when Gunde is active).

That reminds me, when I was in Cyprus our Anglican padre was given the temporary appointment of Bishop for Cyprus and the Continent.

CP, I don't cut the purple coneflower stalks so that the goldfinches will come. One evening last week, as I rode the exercycle, I watched the goldfinches on the coneflowers and hummingbirds on the nicotiana. Wonderful!

My maters can't be beat, and I used to blow smoke all over them and not wash my hands, etc. Doubt it.

120 degrees in my un-air