Calblog

Handspring Treo: A Long and Winding Post

Last July, the twins, turning 12 and entering junior high, got cel phones so we can stay in touch. Recently, Madeleine dropped hers in the toilet. Well, at least we thought so. It turns out she dropped her sister's in the toilet. We assume it was a clean toilet based solely on the fact that Madeleine was able to fish it out and she is the most germphobic of all of us.

I took her off to the store to buy a new one. If you are not signing a new long term contract, there are no deals. Offering to extend your current contract for 20 years will not help. The cheapest phone with no web access and hardly any other features, which we had originally gotten for free, was $149. About $100 more than the overpriced amount I was expecting to pay. I couldn't bring myself to do it.

I came home, did some research and found a refurbished Handspring Treo for $149. What a coincidence. Concerned about "refurbished" and concerned about not buying through Sprint, I placed the order.

I got no box and no instruction manual but otherwise, I can't tell it's refurbished. Switching the number to the phone was easier than activating my first cel phone (mumble, mumble) years ago. Then I switched my phone to Amanda's number. Also easy. The Treo works quite well, making blog reading easier and allowing me to comment, too.

I have noticed somethnig quite interesting. Email is delivered differently depending on whether I am reading it on the desktop or on the Treo. First, I noticed that the identification of the sender sometimes differed. Today, I got an email on the desktop that read Click this link. On the Treo, it says Cut and paste this link into your browser. Nothing nefarious just an interesting technology side effect.

Interesting factoid

Heard on TV: 1000 WWII veterans die every day.

Related: As I recall, Ronald Reagan didn't qualify for combat and made Army films in CA.

Back into Baseball

Well, baseball has always been an interesting sport to me, somehow it manages to build a bunch of goodwill and then at just the right moment, there's a strike or some other silly such thing. But this year, my wife and I chose Comcast High-Speed Internet and they generously gave us a subscription to MLB All Access, I find myself watching a number of baseball games, and I love it. I find it hard to believe, but I enjoy this sport so much more than Basketball, and Football I love, but it just isn't the same.

From the "People who Don't Get It" Files

Compare this comment:

I still think it is laughablely funny that this president is intent on FORCING freedom and democracy on a people who have never ask for it and do not want it.

with this quote from the National Geographic on Hugh Hewitt:

By mid-January of 2004, 270 mass graves had been reported. The Free Prisoners Society estimates that five to seven million people 'disappeared' in the past two decades, the majority of them Shiites.

If I were James Taranto

this would be a dispatch from the porn belt. Of course, this probably would too, even though Gore's margin was far less in Sacto county (call it a hunch though that his margin was higher than the county's in the actual city of Sacto). Will Baude at Crescat and Sara Butler have been going back and forth on a Little Miss Hooters issue. The nice thing about being a conservative is, I do have that philosophical unity that Will seems to bemoan. Note However, that Will is making a value judgment that an individual can't always consent to an action even if they seem to be so consenting, ultimately it is Will's own personal belief/moral system that drives this distinction. I see where Will is coming from but unfortunately, a societal yuck factor just doesn't carry in Constitutional Law anymore. You can thank your Judicial Overlords for that. I think that is Sara's point it's nice that Will doesn't think that 5 year olds can consent, but unfortunately that's just what you think, and it can't carry legal weight anymore, well at least it probably can't 10 years from now. If you want there to be a Yuck factor test, a personal I don't feel it's right, You have to accept that the majority has a right to legislate on certain issues. Hopefully, our culture will eventually turn to slow (dare I hope it) or turn back this ever creeping decay in our moral values.

An identification proposal I could live with

Well, my fellow conservatives are going to think I'm crazy (although I've always been generally supportive of laxer immigration policies) but this Schwarzenegger proposal is one I could agree with. (Allow Driver's Licenses for anyone, but if not a legal resident it would have an indication of that kind of like the Red Bar for anyone under 21). What I don't understand is why the Democrats are opposed. They liken it to a cruel Scarlet letter or something...uh no, it just notes to law enforcement that identity has not been conclusively verified and that the person is not a legal resident. If that's not reasonable than the Democrats are the ones with the problems. After all, I thought the whole point of driver's licenses was to make streets safer and require insurance, the Democrats would never have been trying to make an end run around the country's immigration laws Right?

Prestopundit brings it from the horse's mouth

He's got some excellent quotes like this one: It's that elite, arrogant, condescending, self-serving, self-righteous, biased and wrongheaded view of Americans that causes viewers and readers to distrust media people like John Carroll.

and this one: It didn’t take long for me to realize that religion was used against some applicants seeking employment

Wictory Wednesday

It's Wictory Wednesday. Cruise the blogs on the blogroll in the extended entry and you'll see why you should support Bush by donating or volunteering.

Polipundit:

Every economic indicator is pointing up. Jobs are being created by the hundreds of thousands every month. GDP is growing at the fastest rate in 20 years. Inflation is at historic lows.

You can thank President Bush and the GOP-controlled Congress for this. If they hadn't passed the Bush tax cuts, who knows how badly our economy would be doing?

But if Democrats have their way, most of the Bush tax cuts would be repealed or phased out. John Kerry has voted for 350 tax increases and there's no reason to think he'd change his ways if he were actually elected to the presidency. He'll raise your taxes and kill the Bush boom.

Miller's Time:

The thought of another attack similar or worse to September 11 is beyond words.

If htere is truth to this "chatter," it is now safe to say that the terrorist would rather see "F-Bomb" in the White House.

This is why it is vital to make sure that George W. Bush is re-elected, ensuring that we stay the course and win this war (and it is a WAR) on terrorism.

Blogs are Killing Journalism

E-week attacks blogging:

What is news is that bloggers and blogging are killing journalism as we know it. This is scary but not necessarily bad. I'll try to sort it out.

Though it's not "necessarily bad", it's hard to find good in his conclusion:

But get used to an era in which information becomes so ubiquitous it becomes almost useless.

The article quotes what I believe to be an absolutely untrue statistic.

According to blogger Darren Rowse of www.livingroom.org.au/blog: The average reader spends less than 2 minutes reading the average blog.

That seems to be the number that comes off of sitemeter. I've got my page open now. Sitemeter says my visit lasted 0:00, the time it took to d/l it, I presume. I could read that page from top to bottom and study the links and still sitemeter would think I was there 0:00. Average that out with the few places that record how long the visit is and sure it looks as if the average visit is less than two minutes. Absolutely untrue.

Idaho Ho!

It appears Clayton Cramer isn't the only one to make way to Idaho. I've long thought I'd love to make my way up to Idaho. It's beautiful, cheap, reliably Republican, what more could one ask for...oh yeah and lots of land!

Remember the Surplus?

It didn't all go to the tax cut for the rich:

Proud Mama

I have cute kids.

The Best Lie is Partly True

Fox News has been investigating the death of Jimmy Hoffa. Why? and why now? are two questions I have no answers to. Here's what I do know:

A guy named Frank Sheeran confessed to Fox sometime last year. Then he died on Dec. 14. There's a book coming out in June, written by a Sheeran lawyer, who does not have an apparent connection to Fox.

Fox conducted an investigation, went to the house in Detroit descibed in the confession and found bloodstains precisely matching the confession. Authorities have moved in and pulled up floorboards and there's a new grand jury.

Much is made of the bloodstain pattern matching the confession but the blood is probably too old for DNA. I see nothing to indicate that it is Hoffa. There appears to be no doubt that Sheeran killed people. I think it is very believable that Sheeran killed someone there in that very manner and then, on his deathbed, changed it to Hoffa in the tale to achieve some notoriety.

When the cliches aren't enough

Head on over to Right on the Left Beach, where tragedy has hit close to home, and lend your support to Breaker.

A Real War Sim

Found this via Den Beste. As one who spends way more time playing games like Civ 3 and StarCraft than he should I really appreciated this. If you're into War Sims, and possibly even if not, it should crack you up.

The Kindness of Strangers

Over at Dean's World, I asked readers to drop in on Madeleine and give her some advice in response to this post. The responses are pretty incredible.

Little Bits

Prof. Bainbridge writes on the Martial Virtues and he is correct of the necessity of those martial values especially in a republic. Machiavelli has a poor reputation as one who was someone politically crass, but he was incredibly observant and very insightful into the political realm, as he put it "To insure a long existence to religious sects or republics, it is necessary frequently to bring them back to their original principles."


On this memorial day, we remember those who have paid the ultimate price so that I may live in a city in California and idly pontificate on some weblog, I am and shall be, always grateful, Thank you!


Also, Congratulations to Xrlq on the coming son, I imagine he will bring great joy to their household. Congrats. On a similar note, Xrlq and Justene were integral in peaking my interest in this whole blog thing, and it has been especially fun. Thanks, and thanks Justene for providing a soap box! Although I may be a pretty strident conservative I hope none have been too offended (being a little offended is an important part of life though).


Rachel Lucas returns and I am excitied to see not too much ranting but enjoyment of the little things, don't get me wrong I love the rants and they're still there, but for some reason, I love seeing my tomatoes grow, something about working in the land...I love it. I find I could probably write about tomatoes far more often then well Constitutional Interpretation, of course this is also why I have to write about Constitutional Interpretation, because people like me probably would much rather spend their time with their tomato, corn, squash, watermelon, and zucchini...Alas.

Technology is a pain in the rear, not because technology is a pain, but what I call the 6 month effect (basically the consumer's end of Moore's Law) that is, the overwhelming problem I have buying the stuff I want today is because I know that in 6 months it will be even better.

I was at a graduation party the other day and met with some family also over the weekend and I find more and more people trading in low gas mileage vehicles to higher mileage vehicles. For as much as Americans are not changing plans on high gas prices it does seem people are finally giving up the low gas mileage fix. Something I think is positive, even though I strongly oppose higher gas taxes. Also, SUVs have started to get more and more rebates which is likely the result of them not moving off the lot as quickly. This also dovetails with my last tech point in that I have some interest in a new car, but I don't want to purchase anything new until it is at least a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle. Something I think shows great promise. (A hybrid you can plug in at home so for round trips of 50 miles or less you never need to turn on the gas engine. The potential for gas savings is anywhere from 25-50% now that's real progress fill up maybe once a month when you go on a long trip, but if you have family every 50 miles even better visit fill up the battery and little ways and keep going but the gas engine is there when you need it). Well, these little bits are getting long, so I hope all of you are doing well, and I wish you the best on this Memorial Day, now celebrate your freedom. It's a rare thing in this story we call civilization and we must protect it faithfully or we shall surely lose it.

West Nile Virus

Among the predators here in the Foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains are mosquitos. I have noticed them more this year and gotten a few bites already. So I'm keeping an eye on West Nile Virus.

North County Times has this article on the risk in Riverside County. Looking at the state Dept of Health website though, LA County is the place to be concerned.

WNV has been detected in dead birds from Los Angeles (38), Ventura(1), San Bernardino (9), and Riverside (4) counties and from mosquito pools in Riverside(8), Los Angeles (2), and San Bernardino (1) counties.

LAPublicHealth.org reports (pdf file) that the early indicators of the disease have arrived earlier than expected and are accumulating at a rapid pace, indicating a bad year. (However, no sign of it in chickens yet!)

Prevention tips are pretty obvious like stay inside in the early morning and early evening when mosquitos are most active and uise bug repellent with DEET. However, one thing I didn't know is that you should report dead birds so they can be tested. Reporting number 1-877-WNV-BIRD.

For those really interested in this topic, UC Davis has reports on all similar viruses.

Weintraub and Schwarzenegger Sit Down

Dan Weintraub, aka California Insider, reports in today's Sacramento Bee on his hour-long conversation with Arnold Schwarzenegger. While the rest of us covered the recall when it was interesting and moved on to what's interesting us now, Dan continues his day job of reporting on state government with the same insight he brought to the recall.

BFL notes

Thanks to the efforts of McGehee in getting his RSS feed into action, I learned some things yesterday and I was then able to get 48 of the 51 member blogs into the headline roll. Check it out on the right. It updates once an hour and leads you to some interesting articles.

Peace in the Sudan

Aaron's Rantblog has the news that a Bush diplomatic victory has led to truce in the civil war in Sudan. Almost a year ago, I was willing to send troops into Sudan.

AtlanticBlog notes that it's not a complete victory. The genocide in Darfur, however, remains unabated.

Nonreligious art

Madeleine made this and gave it to me for mother's day. Something about the colors attracts me.

Kobe Bryant - Soon to be single? (The Lawyer betting pool)

Kobe Bryant's wife Vanessa has put on a good game face the past few months. But a multi-million dollar diamond ring and a good NBA playoff series can only buy a husband so much time after he admits his infidelity.

This week, the National Enquirer reports that Mrs. Bryant is "secretly talking to one of Hollywood's most successful divorce lawyers"...

A friend of mine in "mainstream" media circles knows the Enquirer writer on this beat and claims that he has an excellent track record. Not that the Enquirer needs validation from the mainstream media anymore. They have proven their accuracy on big stories that nobody else had for well over a decade now.

Let's admit something that we all know to be true. The National Enquirer has the reputation it has not because it isn't accurate, but because it is often too accurate about stories that mainstream press feels is somehow "beneath them" to cover (though oftentimes - this is merely the excuse that they use, born out of jealousy for not being able to nail the story themselves).

With that said, let's consider what they are reporting. They do not name the lawyer in question, but "one of Hollywood's most successful divorce lawyers" can only mean one of a small handful of people.

If I had to guess the one person who it would be, my money is on

Colossal Blunder

Recently, Smithsonian Magazine ran an article entitled "Colossal Ode", by one David Lehman. It concerns the poem by Emma Lazarus that is found at the base of the Statue of Liberty - "The New Colossuss". We all know part of the lines: "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free...." In the article, Mr. Lehman writes, "It was not until the 1930s, when Europeans in droves began seeking asylum from Fascist persecution, that the poem was rediscovered, and with it the growing recognition that it expressed the statue's true intention."
This begs the question, then, of how Jews attempting to flee the Nazis in 1939 could possibly have been refused entry to the United States, as were the passengers of the SS St. Louis, while actually within sight of the eastern seaboard of the United States. In light of the fact that the passengers of that ship were returned to Europe, where most eventually perished in the Holocaust, it also begs the question of how Mr. Lehman can justify such a statement as that quoted above. I wrote the Smithsonian's editor, and apparently, my letter has been forwarded to Mr. Lehman's publisher. I have yet to receive a response. Meanwhile, Ms. Lazarus, (an American Jew and proponent of the core concept of Zionism) is, no doubt, still rolling in her grave.

AJR on Blogging

Check out The Expanding Blogosphere at the American Journalism Review. Quotes from lots of blogs you know.

New chickens

We continue undaunted at the Calblog "feed the neighborhhod predator" house. We purchased 6 more chicks and converted the downstairs shower into a brooder again. We have this raising the baby part down now (I hope that doesn't jinx it!).

We have 4 rhode island red females, mostly because that was the only breed that was sexed at the store. We also got 2 white bantam (small) silkies. I hope they end up being girls too.

Mostly though, I hope they survive.

That didn't take long

Gay couples moves from "get to marry" to "have to marry."

Friendly Fire? It Shouldn't Matter

This should in no way detract from the heroism of Tillman's ultimate sacrifice, but I cringe when I think how the story will be handled by pundits critical of the war on terrorism.

Gates likes blogs

I have seen a couple of blogs on the Times article criticizing bloggers but no mention yet of this:

Blogs are good for business, Microsoft chairman Bill Gates has said. In a speech to an audience of chief executives, Mr Gates said the regularly updated journals, or blogs, could be a good way for firms to tell customers, staff and partners what they are doing.

He said blogs had advantages over other, older ways of communicating such as e-mail and websites.

More than 700 Microsoft employees are already using blogs to keep people up to date with their projects.

Of course, blogging wasn't good for this former Microsoft employee.

Religious Art

Hidden away, carved into an altar in a chapel in rectory, once attached to a church that has been razed.

Chickenblogging

They turned 2 months old last Sunday. No recent crises. Hooray! Here they are. They have names but I'll save that for an even sillier day.

UPDATE: I jinxed it. They were all killed in broad daylight while grazing in the yard today.

Peace ahead?

Well, this is good news. Well, at least, it can't be bad news.

A Memorial Day Salute

Many of us are quick to say "Happy" Memorial Day. But I have always thought that "happy" is an odd word to use to describe Memorial Day. On the eve of what is perhaps our most solemn holiday, I would like to take a moment and say thanks to all of the veterans and current members of our armed forces that have allowed us to enjoy the freedoms that many of us take for granted as we dive into another three-day weekend of summer fun. For one group of veterans, this weekend has been a long time coming.

For the Record

An interesting way to look at the death penatly. On a similar note, I for one think Coker v. Georgia was wrongly decided. It is one of the cases I'd love to see overturned.

Gas Taxes

Andrew Sullivan not too long ago announced his support for substantially higher gasoline taxes, and as of late so does Professor Bainbridge. I personally think increased gas taxes are a thing to dread. Gas is already relatively highly taxed in compared to other like goods. And while I accept the idea of using a tax to appropriately adjust for externalties like pollution many newer cars are exceptionally low in pollution and older cars are taken off the road and forced to pay for their externalities through the Smog Check II and other ways of insuring that those who pollute more stay off the road.

In any event, my opposition to gas taxes is a simple one really. Gasoline is closely (at least to me) connected to freedom. I grant people will think that I am crazy, but only in America, can someone cheaply drive from S.F. (a week before their first Law Final) and spend a week in Las Vegas and drive from there to the Hoover Dam and to the Grand Canyon, only in America can I get up and cheaply drive to Yosemite to see the wonder that God has created. Only in America, can I decide to drive to Boise, ID instead of flying just because I like to see the land in front of me, to cover the miles. When I travelled in Europe, I rented a car precisely because I wanted to have that freedom, and yes it was dreadfully expensive. Expensive to be in Venice and think "You know what...Let's go drive to Neuschwanstein." Now was I not going to do that because of the cost, well not that trip, but a car allows that freedom, maybe some like to have no room for change or spontenaiety, so you can have your train tickets and airline passes, but for the one who wants to be able to from Vegas say "You know...we could make it to Zion spend 8 hours and make it back in time." Well that's what America is about, that's why gas taxes are insidious, they take away just that little bit of freedom. I love this country, and I want to see it, but so many people would rather just fly over Red America; well let them, but then to want to tax us (those who should want to see this beautiful land more) psheh... People in the states can get up and move 40 miles away from their parents people can live in the exurbs away from the city. After all, there is something true something real about working with one's land, there's a reason land is the only real property. Sullivan must be careful as his policies would lead down the same road as those who want to condemn us to live in miserable apartments detached from the Earth.

Define Profound

From the Washington Post:

Bush's doctrine of preemptive military action is the perfect example, according to Kerry's foreign policy advisers. Bush has asserted the United States' right to preemptively strike a nation it deems an imminent threat to U.S. security. Kerry would not rule out preemptive strikes, nor have past presidents, but he would de-emphasize this option in stated U.S. policy. Samuel R. "Sandy" Berger, a top Kerry adviser, said this represents a "profound difference" between the two candidates.

Go Play In Traffic - Reader Survey

I would like the help of Calblog's readership on this post - especially those of you with children. The brief set-up is as follows: (Please read on)

Boys, Girls and What's Between Them

We're at the end of 7th grade in the Calblog house and boys certainly take up a lot more of our discussion time than ever before. Mostly, it's Maddy who does the discussing. Amanda is interested in boys but seems to have been plucked from the 19th century when one just did not talk about such things.

Recently, I explained to Maddy the meaning of a certain word that referred to a certain sexual act that happened to come up in conversation. Normally those things don't come in conversation but I was so shocked that Sex and the City was going to be shown on TBS that I blurted out the names of certain things that would HAVE to be editted out. After Calblog husband resumed breathing, I decided it was better that she learn that from me than at school. Fortunately, she was duly disgusted. She doesn't have to always be disgusted, but at 12, I want her to be disgusted.

Now we have the actual boys to deal with. No sex, thank heavens. No dating either. Much discussion of dating and who one would date if one were dating. Last night, the answering machine bore the voice of a boy who asked her out. He loves her and she's hot. She has no idea who he is or if he exists. There have been rumors swirling about him for 2 weeks now. I predict a long puberty.

APB

Where's Irish Lass?

CA to Raise Minimum Wage?

The Assembly has voted yes.

MoveOn Counterprotest

What could be more fun? It's tonight! Survivor's ended. Friends has ended. You know you're not doing anything.

Get all the details at the BoifromTroy.

Infotel and the Democratic Party

Make of this what you will (but share your thoughts if you like!). In 2003, the Democratic Party paid for an Infotel Directory.

The Problems with Slippery Slopes

Most of my experience with slippery slopes is anecdotal, and so, is not any sort of empirical study or the like, but I have often noticed that the biggest problem, despite what your logic or philosophy professor told you, with slippery slopes is that they very rarely do not come to pass given time. It seems like with many things once a path is started down it is rarely turned from. Once a blog or something similar turns its focus on the seedier side of life it quickly begins to focus more and more on it. And more so, does it seem that one rarely escapes from that downward spiral. And then, that thing that used to value or utility is absorbed by the seedier discussions and all utitlity is lost. Alas, so is the life of a conservative.

Step 5

There are five steps to adding a member of the Bear Flag League, once they have been accepted.

1. Put them on the blogroll.

2. Get their RSS feed into the headline roll.

3. Put them on the email list.

4. Get them the codes they need for their site.

5. ANNOUNCE THE NEW MEMBER!

Welcome to Raincross Conservative, our first member from Riverside County.

Schindler-Schiavo Update

Her parents were allowed to visit on Sunday for an hour. This after they were completely exonerated of Mr. Schiavo's latest imagined wrong.

Their visits have to be monitored now.

BFL Headlines

With a bit of jerryrigging, I now have the Headline roll to the side expanded to more than 30 blogs. 31 of the 50 Bear Flag members are on it. I have some emails out to people who I think I can get on it easily enough and who I am certain are not on it.

If you are not showing up in the headline roll and you want to show up in the headline roll, email me with your RSS feed.

If you used to show up and you have dropped off, holler.

With this administrative glitch corrected, I am now taking new BFL members again. Get your requests in.

Recommended Reading

If you are interested in the spiritual journey, I highly recommend Ordinary People as Monks and Mystics by Monica Sinetar.

I do not, however, recommend the Yahoogroups mailing list of the same name, said to be inspired by the book but which bears little relation to what I read.

Wictory Wednesday

I finally remembered Wictory Wednesday on a Wednesday. Now I have to remember every Wednesday. Today's the blogger day to donate or volunteer for Bush.

Here's the evergrowing list of other people who do the same:

The Clinton Speeches

A comparison of recent speeches by Bill and Hil.

Patterico's Star is Rising

He continues to get some well-deserved recognition for his LA Times-watching.

Indian Tribe Gets Waterfront Hotel

in San Diego:

The Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation has won approval to build a $30 million hotel and conference center on the San Diego, California, waterfront.

The San Diego city council voted unanimously to accept an agreement with the tribe. Some changes were made to the agreement affecting the land's possible trust status and future attempts at gaming.

Licenses for Illegal Immigrants

The issue that won't die.

One of Schwarzenegger's first acts following his election was to repeal the newly enacted law, which granted licenses to undocumented migrants living in California. At that time, the governor said he would work with Cedillo to craft a bill that protects national security but also takes care of immigrants.

Since then, Schwarzenegger has moved the issue to a back burner, calling it an overly complex problem that wouldn't soon be resolved. ::: Advertisement :::

On Tuesday, Cedillo said, he plans to move ahead with his own measure, and although he downplayed conflict with the governor, said he hoped his newest bill would expedite the process.

Disney's War Toons Almost Suppressed

It turns out that Disney almost pulled a Lynn Cheney/John Kerry in trying to suppress some historically significant documents through an abuse of intellectual property laws. (By "abuse", I mean so in the moral sense of the term. Not a legal sense. That unfortunately is the whole point - current copyright law allows for such moral abuses all the time.)

As in the Cheney/Kerry cases, the Mouse was worried about their corporate image in refusing to allow the re-release of previously published works. Economic incentives had nothing to do with it.

Fortunately, 9/11 and determined animator succeeded in cutting through the corporate culture in order to finally get the Disney Wartime Cartoons released again.

Read all about the project here. Then run out an buy yourself a copy before Eisner, et al. get

Baby Chimps

A story like this one just tickles me. Lots of chimp babies on the way.

Well, Lookee Here

Frequent commenter, Bob Kirchman, makes news in Canada in a story about scams. Before you get suspicious, he is the blogger behind Scamfighter's Tips.

Ch-ch-changes

In the past two weeks, I have moved my office for the second time in 3 months, resigned most of my volunteer positions, shut down the mediation practice and ended a friendship that was partly the cause (but not the blame) of all of this.

Am I happy now? Not yet. I am, however, relieved. There are various theories about change. One theory is that you shouldn't make too many changes at once. That has never worked for me. I need to condense the upheaval, get through it and rebuild. On to the rebuilding.

Spaceport Mojave

Mojave Airport Civilian Flight Test Center is about to be certified as the first private spaceport.

US Civil War and Iraq

Via Tonecluster: An article recalling the South after the Civil War and comparing it to Iraq.

Initiative Good News

The headline on So Cal Law Blog says it all:

Initiative to Reduce 17200 "Shakedown" Lawsuits Qualifies for Ballot

As always, he's got all the details and links to the original sources.

Blog Story of the Day

Ana Marie Cox of Wonkette.com was on Fox with Jessica Cutler who posted her sexual escapades under Washingtonienne. Jessica has been fired from her Senate aide position for her blog. Wonkette has a picture of the two together.

Don't feel sorry for Jessica just yet. It looks as if this will propel her into the spotlight.

Random thought: Which BFL'er do you think will be the first to hit national TV for their blog?

Random BFL notes

Patterico is putting together a group lunch with a special guest this week. Contact him if you didn't get the email -- or even if you did.

I'm having technical difficulties with the expansion of the headline roll. Note to Rollup -- I'd pay for a rollup that handles more than 30 blogs. I've got a few ideas on how to do what I want to do but need to carve out a couple of hours to try them all. No new BFL members until I can get to that. If you're in the queue, I know who you are and I have not forgotten.

I can't believe I'm writing about Michael Moore again

Via Prestopundit, a Fred Barnes article on the lies of Michael Moore. See also Patterico on the speed of the LA Times reaction to the latest lie.

Boxer Takes a Ride on the Reading

Remember when Boxer was running around extremely worried about shoulder mounted rocket launchers? Now she is concerned that someone will bomb the trains. Of course, her worry accompanies a spending bill she is pushing.

Strange Bedfellows

Moveon.org is touting the new disaster film, The Day After Tomorrow, which is apparently based on a book by two famous UFO believers. Skeptical Inquirer, which dislikes the movie, but does think climate changes are coming, makes the connection.
A long, long time ago(late 70s? early 80s) I read a series of books by Ruth Montgomery in which she claimed to talk to spirits who predicted such a climate change around now, along with a President who had gone through a spiritual change before becoming President. My general bias is that, if there was a psychic predicition of all this, then it won't happen. Now that I know the UFO guys are also behind this climate deal, I'm not going to worry about it.

Celeb Poker

The absolutely wonderful Irish Lass pointed me to this article of celebrity sightings at the World Series of Poker. I played a couple of satellites to try to win my way to the WSOP but failed miserably.

Je T'adore, Monsieur Moore

Why is this a surprise to anyone?

Of Bikes and Men

As I'm sure most of you have heard, the President fell off his bicycle today.

According to Matt Drudge, in response, "Kerry told reporters in front of cameras, 'Did the training wheels fall off?'... Reporters are debating whether to treat it is as on or off the record... Developing... "

Blogger Down

Another blogger, Suzi, who tackles the problem of spyware, is coming under fire. Some sites get threatened a lot and handle it well. I ran across one that had a whole page of complaints. I've had some threats and actual filed papers but I practice law and can generally take care of myself.

Suzi is not in a position to just laugh off even the most baseless threats like this one and she is helping on an issue -- spywire -- that has become a serious problem. So we have to rally around her. There's some behind-the-scenes support. Blogosphere support is starting to build here and here. Please join in.

Not Ready for Prime TIme

There are a couple of blogs out there that I know about and the owners haven't started publicizing them.

Inspired by the Infotel brouhaha, Scamfighter's Tips has opened it's doors.

Frequent commenter, Clark, has a blog but hasn't told me where it is. Public pressure is obviously in order.