first!

And I actually read the kit before posting. . . I like the building.

More graphics!! Be still, my art!

When MIT sue for its STATA building design deficiencies, I wonder the unorthodox building the Chinese TV crew working inside is stable and comfortable as a rocking chair. Hi, Cassandra, I read your posting in the last kit and it is well written. Thanks.

See, this is why I try to maintain a certain degree of Zen when contemplating the future. You can never really know the shape of things to come. Perhaps it'll be 2050 and ash emissions from Yellowstone will have plunged us into a mini ice-age. Folks will sit around and get all misty eyed over Global Warming.

Going photo-CRAZY, folks.

See, this is why I try to maintain a certain degree of TOTAL SCREAMING PANIC AND HYSTERIA when contemplating the future. You can never really know the shape of things to come. Perhaps it'll be NEXT FREAKING WEEK and ash emissions from Yellowstone will have plunged us into a mini ice-age. Folks will sit around and get all misty eyed over Global Warming.

To paraphrase this guy I know.

Wilbon's comments are interesting until you recall that Shula himself was stolen away from the Colts in such a way that the Dolphins were punished in a manner very similar to the Patriots. Glass houses, Coach Shula, glass houses.

Oh yeah, and the Kit's good, too.

:-)

BTW, who painted all those big white numbers all over the park? Do the Park Rangers know? This graffiti thing has just gotten out of hand.

Sort of a repost from the last boodle.

Here are two of the other prestige structures being constructed by the Chinese for their Olympics, - the "bird's-nest stadium" and the "watercube."

http://inhabitat.com/wp-content/uploads/birdsnest1.jpg

http://inhabitat.com/wp-content/uploads/ptwwatercube.jpg

They don't seem quite as gravity-defying as the building Joel presents, but are still kinda cool.

I'm boogeying. We have the strong smell of (natural) gas in the building (kinda like on Titan) and I think we're gonna be evacuated soon. We think it's Kenny, who brought in leftover chili for lunch, but you can never be too sure about this things.

Later, dudes.

Sigh. I monkey with a new toy and I break the format of the blog. I will call in reinforcements.

Hey! Minor claim to fame! I actually have a real-life jar of Mt St. Helen's Ash sitting in my cubicle. I was a high school student in the Pacific Northwest when the thing blew.

And Mudge, yeah, the panic approach works well too. But I like to channel profound pessimism into a greater appreciation for the joys of the day. I try to breath in the happiness of today because I fully expect that whatever I end up breathing tomorrow won't be nearly as good.

I'm not seeing anything to get too concerned about Joel. True, you seem to have lost wrap around text, but nothing too epic.

Oh, I see that there are bad hyperlinks too.

Darn that new technology.

My text wraps very nicely. I don't know what is the problem, Kenneth (obscure pop-culture paraphrase).

I like the pictures. I don't think I would be too thrilled about working in that building, especially if the windows don't open, as with most modern office buildings. If I can't throw paper airplanes or jump out with a parachute, where's my incentive for accepting an office suspended over the yawning chasm of empty air above a tiresome urban concrete-scape?

You know, RD Padouk, that comparison between breathing today and tomorrow rings so true. Of course, I was poisoned yesterday at work and continue to be poisoned today, so it can only get better tomorrow. Right?

The possibility of a major volcanic event [a weasel word to encapsulate "eruption" or "steam venting with crater" or "end of the world as we know it"] could, if I dwelt on it, offer an excuse to leave work and spend some constructive time at home. Perhaps I could ready the garden for its layer of ash.

The least they could do is paint little faux-chalk outlines of people on the ground beneath the o'erhanging parts of the building.

Just fer fun, you know?

I only hope that Yellowstone doesn't go supervolcano on us. The computerized rendition on NatGeo was scary enough. A lot of people wouldn't even have a chance to kiss their butts goodbye.

And now veering to the off topic area, a bit about the origins of slang:

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/08/nyregion/08irish.html

Joel, nice job laying this out, dude.

We'll make a webmaster out of you yet.

bc

Ivansmom, I think you should contact a lawyer about your working conditions. I know a real good one in your area. :-)

If you should experience an eruption lasting more than four hours, consult your seismologist.

Check out the Beatle Paul item I just linked to at the bottom of the kit (unless I have broken the blog entirely).

K-guy, if I get a four hour eruption, you'll hear about it. Trust me.

Conceptually, the Chinese Twisted Square Doughnut is an arch. It will be more robust than a straight tower-style skyscraper. But it is going to be a b i t c h to build. And try to get approval for that in NY City.
Another arch I was lucky enough to visit, La Grande Arche de la Défense, in Paris. It was build in the 80's, IIRC.
http://www.greatbuildings.com/buildings/La_Grande_Arche.html

OTOH, if you should experience an eruption lasting more than four hours while attending a Star Trek convention, consult a vulcanologist.

RD Padouk - I too have a jar of Mt. St. Helen's ash.

My beloved in-laws swept up their yards and blessed us with ash at my wedding. It was a pain getting it out of the carpet in the van. And then they left me a gift with a bow and the jar of ash.

I keep mine on the book case with other precious memories.

I'm not sure I could concentrate if I worked in a leaning building, and I'm sure I'd be a basket case if they made me work in the catilevered (ish) part. The vertigo would kill me.

I keep my standby's standing by for just such occasions as Yellowstone doing something unexpected. Like legumes. You can't have too many in the cupboard.

Hi Pacifica! Yep, I think there are lots of these little "ash stashes" around. I got mine from relatives in Centralia, Washington which was coated in the stuff. (My home town, Puyallup, was pretty much spared.) I also have a coffee mug, somewhere, with the ash worked into the ceramic glaze.

As a native, I have never been to Yellowstone in the summer. We took trips in the winter to snowshow, xcountry sky, and take snow cat trips into the interior. The Firehole river rimmed by ice-rime on the trees is a National Geographic moment.

The better part, as Yoki knows, is Glacier.

RD and Pacifica, I have a glass Christmas ornament made of St. H.'s ash...swirly rainbow, psychedelic effect.

Off for a quick bike ride before the dark curtain of November nights falls.

Coming back from Costco and heard on NPR that Ira Flatow, host of NPR's Science Friday, will cover Yellowstone's supervolcano as part of his show tomorrow.

http://www.sciencefriday.com/program/archives/200711093

Note that Ira's guest Jacob Lowenstern and Bob Christiansen, mentioned in the Kit, work out of the USGS's office in Menlo Park, Calif.

Bob Christiansen ("Chris") is Research Geologist Emeritus with the U.S. Geological Survey in Menlo Park. He received his B.S. in geology in 1956 and his Ph.D. in 1961, both from Stanford. Since joining the USGS in 1961, he has studied volcanism and its relation to tectonics in many different settings and has had several tours of duty as an administrator, including as Scientist-in-Charge during the 1980 volcanic eruptions of Mount St. Helens, Chief of the Survey's Branch of Igneous and Geothermal Processes, and the first Scientist-in-Charge [at] the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory. During the academic year 1984-85 he was a Visiting Lecturer in Volcanology and Igneous Petrology at Harvard.

Hmmm...I have a glass egg made with Mt. St. Helens ash, a gift from my late mother-in-law.

At the time, I remember hearing that the only vehicles able to function were fire trucks with big air filters. It seems the ash would clog filters in other vehicles and choke them down. There is an air filter plant in the next county, and they worked 24/7 for a number of weeks to keep up with the demand from the Pacific Northwest.

Just for the record, all those folks who pounced on the original headline on that article (over at the other comment thread, on the article itself -- thanks RDP for sticking up for us) should try the decaf next time. I don't know who wrote the hed at dot.com but it was surely in a rush and they fixed it quickly to make it on-topic. The website has THOUSANDS of moving parts and the readers who want to squawk about a bad hed (that gets fixed almost instantly) should find something more substantive to focus on, methinks.

Why do I have a Google ad for The Nostradamus Code?

Dunno, boss. My Google ads are:

Anti-Bush Stuff

Colbert for President?

George W Bush Poll

My ads were all about Yellowstone and volcanoes (volcanii?) until Slyness posted; now I have her ads. The power of suggestion.

My ads, I like the Suites add - complete with volcano view!

AP has a good video of the eruptions in Indonesia. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/Page/document/video/vs?id=RTGAM.20071108.wvvolcano1108

The Nostradamus Code
World

Sorry was doing a few things and delayed the posting and failed to copy everything. Trust me one of my ads was for a hotel advertising their Volcano view rooms.

Now I only have one ad:

New "Leadership" Book
Learn to instill trust, build teams overcome fear, make decisions

I hate when serial commas are omitted, it just destroys symmetry.

Just went and read the comments on Joel's article, (Front Page - WOW), and once again I appreciate everyone here so much.

Great article.

Joel, I don't think there was anything wrong with the original headline except it might have not reflected the emphasis of your article.

The critics were asserting that if A implies B then, clearly, B implies A.

And it is this lack of basic logical skills that make me weep into my Shiraz.

RD and Pacifica,

I was in Spokane for the Mt. St. Helens eruption and have a lot of ash that we collected. I also have some glass that was blown from the ash and it definitely has an interesting psychedelic effect to its finish (maybe from the mica?).

Anyway, I remember the day very well because my brothers and I were playing basketball in the park and when our sister came running out to call us inside, the sky began to darken (about 2:00 p.m.). By the time we made it inside the day had turned to a night darker than any I have ever experienced and the ash was falling like large gray snowflakes. The ash did not reflect light very well so there was no glow like you get from some winter snow storms. In fact it got so dark that it was hard to see your hand in front of your face. The other eerie effect was the dampening of all of the sounds and the change or absence of familiar echos. For a fifth grader, it made a lasting impression.

We were off from school for over a week and had to wear masks whenever we went outside (for about two weeks). The ash stuck around for a good month or so, though the rain tended to aggregate it into concrete-like clumps.

Anyway, a memorable event for me.

I donno, RD, my wife can defend what you describe as a perversion of logic. For example, if the garbage needs to be taken out, it logicly follows that I must be the one to do it.

Very nice pictures and front page article. Weird building. The kit is getting a polished look.

The feel, however, remains crusty. This is a good thang.

se picture of Grand Prismatic Spring on page 1 of WaPo looked to me like a small blue bird that had been run over by a truck.

Are we sure Yellowstones needs tums, not a stomach pump?

BTW I like the skewed square arch building.

The "invisiblity" in air pollution is a sure-fire tipoff that they're also thinking well in advance about making it hard for a plane to aim at, at the same time they advertise it as a grand chinese achievement etc. That's good thinking for the Olympic games in Beijing. Give the terrorists a fancy target instead of a handful of athletes.

And then nab them when they can't find the damn thing in all the smog. Excellent trap.

The CCTV building needs one thing. Glass floors on the bottom floor of the arch.

Here's a quick shoutout to kbertocci and mostlylurking, who are spending the weekend together at the Miami Book Fair!

Have fun, ladies! Tell Dave Barry I said 'hi' and I'm sorry to miss him (and you two) this year!

‹(•¿•)›

TBG

Glass Floor? Glass Floor? Oh sweet heavens no.

I wouldn't mind helping to build that thing. I'm trying to learn the International Building Codes these days, and so I sort of resent having to do that, and the Chinese are violating all of 'em. I guess, from the article, anyway. For some reason, I'm thinking of the movie "Cube."

Speaking of volcanoes, right about the time of Mt. St. Helens, there was also a volcano in Mexico that spewed an ash cloud much higher in the atmosphere. In Texas, you could literally see it slightly dim the sun as it circled the earth in the jetstream over periods of a month or so per circumnavigation er, circumambulation, uh, a few weeks or so to go around and show up in the sky at the same latitude. And now the story of that volcano is forgotten somehow, probably because it was in Mexico but it did affect us in the US.

I second that motion TBG. Mostly and kbertocci, have a wonderful time.

Thanks, TBG and dr. I'm here in balmy Florida. kbertocci and I are having a good time already, of course.

A Florida Book-BPH...such fun. Go nuts.

I was right. At about 2:47 p.m., the alarms went off and they evacuated my building (the East Building) of the DOT, all 2,500 or 3,000 of us, and told us to go home for the day. There was a gas main break (I think around 4th St. at the far end of our building). They even shut down the elevator bank at that end of the building, so everybody had to evacuate out of the one exit.

Being on the ground floor and virtually adjacent to the door, my group was among the first ones out. Police had blocked off M street at 2nd and on the other end around 5th or 7th, in the middle of the Navy Yard. I was lucky, and caught the last bus out of there before the entire south side of Washington turned into a parking lot.

Apparently none of it seemed worthy enough to make the TV news (let me know if any of you saw anything on TV; my wife says there was nothing on channel 4 NBC).

Yes, mostlylurking is lurking from the Sunshine State now and for the next few days. Tomorrow we'll tour Broward County, or a little piece of it at least, and then Saturday and Sunday we'll be hobnobbing with the literati.

Here's something from the local free weekly paper, not that it applies to two very married and proper ladies like ml and me:

==========================
Best Place to Meet Intelligent Men (2007)

Miami Book Fair International

When they aren't ironing their ascots, taking nature walks, or perfecting their gourmet cooking, intelligent men like to read. A lot of them write too. Some even do poetry for intelligent women. In mid-November these übermenschen gather, in between triathlons and winetastings, to hear their favorite writers and poets read at Miami Dade College. They ride the Metromover from their penthouse suites on Brickell while reading Dante in Italian. They stare moodily and idly flex their well-defined biceps, seeking a muse to ravish. Ladies, if you miss them, don't worry. There's always the man on the other side of the table at a book-signing. He may be old and frumpy, but he's probably alone. And hey, he's smart -- very, very smart.

=========

Got up this morning and turned on the tap, holding my breath. There's water! Eureka! When there's no electricity, one can light a candle. When there's no water, the frustration can make one go mad. You shouldn't dirty your hands, you shouldn't eat or drink .....

On volcano : I don't like that part about Mt Kelud, on the island of Java, blowing up. It'll affect us. We're far from Java but not far enough if the volcano blows up in a major way.

Enjoy yourselves, kbertocci and mostly. I have no doubt that you will have a great time.

Um, no offense to denizens of Greater Miami, but isn't the "Best Place to Meet Intelligent Men" (and Women) right here? At least we gotta be close.

Excellent news, rainforest! Great to hear that you have water.

Rainforest, water truly is the one thing we can't do without. Glad to hear that yours is back.

In my area, we were delighted with enough rain a couple of weeks ago to move us from exceptional drought to extreme drought. Where are hurricanes when we need them? And the season is just about over.

Uh, Bertooch, I always thought it was the muse who did the ravishing, and the writer was the ravishee. Don't most writers sit around staring woefully at the blank sheet of paper (last century) or blank monitor (this century) waiting for the capricious b1tch to show up and do her thang? Please don't tell me I've been doing it wrong all these years.

Turning now to sports, the kit reminds me of a classic Chris Bermanism: Ivan "Bubbling" Calderon.

I see that the headline for this article has mutated again. Should we be concerned? Is rapid headline mutation considered a harbinger of more severe journalistic instabilities? And just what kind of strange weird-like word is "harbinger" anyway?

Although I find the new headline "As Yellowstone Bubbles, Experts Are Calm," vaguely sinister, I think it does grab the attention of the reader. Which is, of course, the idea.

Have fun at the Miami Book Fair ladies.

Rainforest glad you have water and hopefully the volcano will not have a major eruption. How far is it from you?

This is very serendipitous. I have posted in the past couple of days pictures of the actual Olympic Birds Nest and Bubble Pool under construction.

Birds Nest:
http://livebythefoma.blogspot.com/2007/11/dirty-birds-nest.html

Natatorium:
http://chinasights.blogspot.com/2007/11/water-sports.html

These are both very different looking buildings. Olympic architecture does tend towards the outlandish.

I was home today and mostly in bed with what appears to be gout of the knee. At least the joint itself is certified OK.

I read the Yellowstone story during a period of afternoon wakefulness, liking it without noticing the author. In 1980, I wangled a couple of weeks off so I could take in a big Congress of Systematic and Evolutionary Biology in Vancouver, BC. This called for lots of planning. One idea was to visit Mt St Helens to avoid the crowds at Mt Rainier. Didn't work. Come July, I drove across ashy central Washington, then from Yakima to Mt Rainier through increasingly thick ash. Rainier itself was awesome (I forgot to take photos of the glacier lilies because of the glaciers) and nearly empty.

On the way back, I spent a night at Quake Lake before crossing a busy Yellowstone Park. It felt different.

Hm-m-m. First pics, and now sound? When I clicked on the Comments just now, I heard Wilbrodog bark. Is this something else new? Or has my home computer done something in the corner I haven't found yet? Taking off tomorrow to make it a 4-day weekend. Trying to get this ^@%$($* yard work done before the REAL cold weather sets in. Going to be bad enough tomorrow, but we're going to Shakespeare downtown on Saturday, so that day is shot. Well, it is now well past bedtime, so I'll touch base when I can.

Yikes, gout. That can be controlled with proper diet, Dave O' the Coonties, but it's not necessarily an option you may like. Some can do it with moderation, others need more drastic measures.

Although I think you COULD cut out the pate de fois gras and wine at every meal, no? Some easy tips to go from here...
http://arthritis.about.com/cs/gout/a/foodstoavoid.htm

My condolences; I hear gout is extremely painful, probably far more painful than all but the very worst osteoarthritis.

Who stole my bark? I want it back!

dmd, I'm north of Mt Kelud - about 2.5 hrs flight. It's not near but as far as volcanic ash is concern, it's just a stone's throw away.

The sad fact is that thousands of people are living around the slopes of the volcano. They left when there were tremors and when the volcano started spewing steam and gases but returned when the authorities downgraded the warning. The problem is, the authorities have been wrong before. Mt Kelud erupted in 1990. The eruption killed over 30 people after the authorities downgraded the alert.

My wife collects penguins made of unusual materials. We have one of Mount St. Helens ash. Ash from the National Forest Area is forbidden, so souvenirs have to come from ash beyond the boundary. If they ever need to film a post apocalyptic movie they could use the MSH area still today.

Hey.
Gotta run.

Happy Friday, everybody! I'm up at a reasonable time, maybe I'll get something done today.

Dave, take care of the knee. I remember my dad having gout and being in pain with it. Darvon was the drug of choice at that time. Is it still around?

Good morning all.
The Capitals beat the Sens last night in the first NHL game Witch no. 2 saw in person. It reminds me of the time a very lousy Caps team (24W-42L-14T) beat the mighty Canadien (60W-8L-12T) in the 76-77 season
yello, some Olympic architecture gets out of hand. Montreal has this billion dollar (1975-80 dollars!) useless stadium as a proof of that.
After dealing with socialized medicine (the Fungi may get some hardware removed from his foot later this morning) I'll try to put up the temporary shelter and install some of the winter protection on the plants. It's always easier to do it before the ground gets frozen too hard. Something I learned the hard way.

Mornin' all...

Interesting stuff, but why worry about a volcanic event when the whole planet will eventually be destroyed by a nova or supernova anyway?

Not that I'm a pessimist or anything.

In other news... WE HAVE HEAT! Gas is back on and the house is relatively cozy now. It was nice to be able to go to bed without a parka.

Bean's bus is coming... gotta run.

Peace out...

The idea of a supervolcano eruption in Yellowstone is one of those concepts, like an asteroid hit or male pattern baldness, that has been known to keep me up at night.

Human existence occupies a tiny chunk of time compared to the history of the earth. A history that is chock full of decidedly unpleasant geological spasms.

Sometimes I think we are like a bunch of ants who build an intricate colony in the middle of a lawn not realizing that it is about to be mowed.

Okay, not the most elegant metaphor.

But the point is, in my world-view at least, there is absolutely nothing preventing Very Bad Things from happening. Which leads back to that whole "Zen of living" idea.

I am not only relieved and delighted to wake up each morning. I'm also just a little bit surprised.

I'm always surprised when I wake up, RD...

"What? Again?!! Ah well... so it goes."

Ah martooni - I can certainly see how a new day can be seen as a burden. But if it helps I think that we in the boodle are always glad to see that you have survived to fight the good fight another day. And I'm sure we are not the only ones.

Thanks guys. You've distracted me from thinking about the impending economic meltdown.

*feeling-much-bettah-and-not-just-cuz-it's-TGIF Grover waves*

I obviously gotta check the comments on the "real" article... *heading over to the dark side*

:-)

RD... it's not that the days are burdens -- I'm actually feeling much more positive lately.

I think it's more of an existential angst winding down kind of thing. I still want to rage against the machine, but I want to be happy and possibly help fix it, too.

I really need to not read Sartre anymore.

*heading for the shower after reading the "comments"*

:-O

Glad to hear you are feeling better martooni. And regarding "Rage Against the Machine." Sure, they had some great guitar work, but I always felt their angry rocker bit was a little overwrought.

Mudge, glad you didn't get blown to smithereans yesterday. I left the Navy Yard at 1850, after my workout at the gym. "M" street was so quiet and vacant, I wouldn't have noticed that anything was amiss. Jeepers, first entire windows that jump out of their frames, now this. Of course, nobody bothered to tell *US* anything. Hey, we're the Navy, we don't need to know nuttin'.

BTW, 'bout that ravishing the muse thing. I know the feeling, I musta had it backwards all this time, too.

Hey, Joel's got another piece on "The Trail," at http://blog.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2007/11/09/the_clintons_eternal_return.html#more

'Morning, Boodle.

The commenters on the Trail piece keep referring to a Mr. Achenbach.
Whoozaat?

RD, I liked Rage Against the Machine, and always felt that the Angry People's Revolution thread that ran through their music was the political equivalent of religious or horror imagery that runs through the music of other rock bands.

It's all somewhat silly, IMO. I should add here that I think System of a Down has picked up reasonably well where Rage left off, and has a very interesting Armenian quirkiness running through the lyrics and arrangments (e.g. interesting tempo changes and breaks).

And are we ants, or termites?

Miami Book Fair Ladies, please have fun this weekend!

Mudge, sorry to hear about your gas problems, hope you're feeling better soon.

Speaking of which (how's *that* for a smooth segue?), let's see about those comments on Joel's article in WaPo.com...

bc

Thanks, bc. It was just a little indigestion.

Wow, Eugene Robinson has ripped Arbusto a new one: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/08/AR2007110801810.html?hpid=opinionsbox1

May I echo Adm. Mullen's gratitude for the selfless service each of our countries' servicemen and women. Thank you for your service to our country.

Don

FM CJCS WASHINGTON DC

TO ALMILACT

INFO ZEN/CJCS WASHINGTON DC
ZEN/JOINT STAFF WASHINGTON DC

BT
UNCLAS
QQQQ

SUBJ: ALMILACT 13-07 - VETERANS DAY - 11 NOVEMBER 2007// UNCLASSIFIED//

MSGID/GENADMIN,USMTF,2005/CJCS (UC)/F002//

SUBJ/ALMILACT 13-07 - VETERANS DAY - 11 NOVEMBER 2007// POC/CAPT KIRBY/703-697-4272/-/LOC:THE PENTAGON// GENTEXT/REMARKS/"LET US SET OURSELVES A STANDARD SO HIGH THAT IT WILL BE A GLORY TO LIVE UP TO IT ... AND THEN LET US LIVE UP TO IT." THAT IS WHAT PRESIDENT WILSON SAID TO AMERICAN SOLDIERS HEADING OFF TO WAR IN 1917, A WAR THE ENDING OF WHICH WE NOW COMMEMORATE AS VETERANS DAY.
IT IS RIGHT THAT WE SET ASIDE A DAY FOR THOSE WHO HAVE BORNE THE BURDEN OF DEFENDING OUR COUNTRY. THEY ARE TYPICALLY OUR YOUNGEST.

IT IS RIGHT THAT WE RECOGNIZE THEIR SACRIFICE. IT IS TYPICALLY THE GREATEST THAT CAN BE MADE. BUT SO, TOO, DOES VETERANS DAY REMIND US OF THE POWER OF SERVICE, OF GIVING ONESELF OVER TO A CAUSE -- A PURPOSE -- FAR GREATER THAN THE INDIVIDUAL.

THE SOLDIERS WHO STORMED THE BEACHES AT NORMANDY KNEW SUCH PURPOSE, AS DID THE MARINES AT IWO JIMA ... THE SAILORS AT MIDWAY ... OUR BRAVE AIRMEN OVER THE SKIES OF EUROPE. IN WARS LARGE AND SMALL, LONG AND SHORT, THROUGHOUT THE HISTORY OF THIS NATION, YOUNG AMERICANS HAVE CONSISTENTLY STEPPED INTO THE BREACH, RAISED THEIR RIGHT HANDS AND MADE A PROMISE TO SERVE -- TO "DEFEND THE CONSTITUTION AGAINST ALL ENEMIES FOREIGN AND DOMESTIC."
TODAY, AMERICA'S MEN AND WOMEN IN UNIFORM CONTINUE TO HEED THAT PROMISE, TO LIVE UP TO THE SAME HIGH STANDARDS PRESIDENT WILSON EXPECTED OF HIS DOUGHBOYS. THEY KNOW THEY STAND ON THE BROAD SHOULDERS OF VETERANS WHO SERVED BEFORE THEM, VETERANS WHO GAVE THEM THE VERY FREEDOM FOR WHICH THEY NOW FIGHT. THEY KNOW THEY COULDN'T DO IT WITHOUT THE LOVE OF THEIR FAMILIES. AND THEY KNOW THE AMERICAN PEOPLE SUPPORT THEM.

I HAVE VISITED MANY OF OUR SOLDIERS, SAILORS, AIRMEN AND MARINES IN IRAQ, AFGHANISTAN, KUWAIT AND EVEN ON THE DMZ IN SOUTH KOREA. THEY ARE FOCUSED AND PROUD OF THE DIFFERENCE THEY ARE MAKING. THEY DO IT NOT FOR GLORY, BUT FOR EACH OTHER, THEIR FAMILIES AND THEIR COUNTRY.
TO ALL OUR VETERANS -- PAST AND PRESENT -- AND YOUR FAMILIES, THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE. THANK YOU FOR MAKING AND KEEPING THAT PROMISE.

WE ARE PROUD OF YOU.

SIGNED: M. G. MULLEN, ADMIRAL, U.S. NAVY//

BT
#0782
NNNN

I think I need to blow the sawdust off my Clash "London Calling" CD and crank up the jams.

I so like not having to work in an office. Steel toes, loud tunes and power tools.

Off to the man cave...

Couldn't go to sleep last night around 10 p.m., so was up, playfully Googling. I was actually trying to place Lyman Trumbull, of 13th Amendment renown and friend to Lincoln, on the family tree. Thought I had made that link a year or more ago, but couldn't find it last night, despite my best attempts.

As far as the relevance of the Trumbulls to Joel's Kit, Lyman's son Walter Trumbull plays a hand in the Yellowstone story as a cub reporter.

http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/haines1/iee4b.htm

What I accidentally tripped across late last night in my searching, much to my surprise, was this link to work by noted genealogist Gary Boyd Roberts. See numbers 42 (William Morris Hunt, artist) and 43 (his brother, Richard Morris Hunt, architect) and footnotes below for these numbers (list of page references in "The Loomis Family in America" genealogy tome).

http://www.newenglandancestors.org/education/articles/research/special_guests/gary_boyd_roberts/61_659_461.asp

Sine these Hunts are descended materanlly from a long line of Loomises (if you recall, I said their mother was from Suffield, Conn.), I think this puts the relationship between the architect brother Hunt and Loomis descendant Frederick Law Olmsted and their work on the Biltmore estate in North Carolina in a new light. Local history professor Char Miller doesn't mention the family connection in his book about forester Gifford Pinchot, nor does any other author, as far as I'm aware.

Just thought it was something historian Doug Brinkley might like to know.

First, the creation of Yosemite, first as a state-run public park, an idea promoted by Olmsted and Whitney, and, second, Ferdinand Hayden and President Grant helping to usher in Yellowstone as the first federal park, is shaping up, if not as a story of family--as I believe, at least one of the Connecticut River Valley.

*saluting my fellow veterans*

Don,

*hand over heart*

After reading Hank Stuever's piece on the D. C. tax refund embezzlers and their spending habits at Neiman Marcus, I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Mostly my mind drifted back to the 60's when people spoke of lining folks up against the wall and starting the revolution with a bang. Reading the comments from the fashionistas at Neiman's and in New York, it occurred to me that one would have to repaint the wall first in a complimentary earth tone in order to get them to stand in front of it. This story and the one about the pilfering of school activity funds are just so frustrating and so sad. Sad that apparently so many people have so little integrity, frustrating that the system makes it so easy to steal from children. Sad that this will probably inhibit fund raising at the schools, frustrating that the lesson that the kids will take away from this is that those entrusted with their education are incompetants, fools, and thieves.

A big salute from me to all the veterans as well. Just saw this quiz on the Globe site, from the Dominion Institue of Canada, sadly few younger Canadians could do well on this quiz - since I rarely do well on the quizzes here I just have to jump up and say 21/21!!

The questions are easy that young Canadians cannot answer them is very sad. As smart as most are on this boodle I would think most of you could do well.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/v5/content/features/quiz/remeberanceday07/

People love a good conspiracy theory. The image of Hillary skulking around her enemies' houses planting bags of burning dog poop is hilarious.

Matooni,
Put on Sandinista as well. "Washington Bullets" always gets my umbrage up.

dmd. I love question 18.

What name is commonly used to refer to the British subjects who fled to Canada during and after the American revolution.

Liberals
Loyalists
Draft Dodgers
Traitors

12/21. Interestingly, on most of the political questions, the correct answer was the last one that I considered before choosing the wrong answer.

Welcome to my world SciTim :-)

15/21 on the quiz. It seems all that time spent skiing near the border led to some osmosis.

:-)

17/21 I think this explains why I sometimes laugh out loud at Rick Mercer. I'm so excited, I'm starting to get the political jokes! (confession-I wouldn't have known the first American in space either. Always get those guys confused.)

Frosti did you see this weeks Mercer Report, there is thrown in there a very funny reference to Bush at a FEMA briefing in New Orleans.

Every monday the Tampa Trib runs a Movie Midpoint quiz. Doesn't keep score, and only a few movies this week, but I submit it for some Friday fun:

http://www2.tbo.com/static/special_reports/movie-midpoints/

From the front page of WaPo.com... is it newspaper sweeps week or something?

//The Politics of Sex
The List | "I did not have sexual relations with that woman" is just one of many... View our Top 10 sexual politician scandals.//

And what's a sexual politician, anyway?

12/21. My favorite was the 'hoser' question.

TBG;

Um, all of them?

:-)

A few more Canadian firsts:

Marc Garneau, first Canadian in space. 1984
Roberta Bondar, first Canadian woman in space. 1992
Chris Hadfield, first Canadian to walk in space. 1995

new kit

Dave o' the C... looks like you've been eating too much smelt.

18/21 got 6, 19, and 20 wrong. Made a couple of good guesses, but I did know the first Canadian in space question, cause I just finished reading a book about the first twenty years of the Space Shuttle.

When marzipan goes horribly wrong...

http://news.yahoo.com/photo/071104/ids_photos_en/r24054791.jpg;_ylt=AuMKr6fHCTfchtLkjBCAVLJpaP0E

:-)

Let me just say that this Andres Segovia guy is worthy of a listen. Excellent music to concentrate on wordsmithing by.