Most amazing photos ...

Please, if you don't do anything else today go here and see the rest of these photos...

The Incredible Century Old Color Photography of Prokudin-Gorsky

by R J Evans, Jun 17, 2009

In 1909 a remarkable project was initiated by Russian photographer Sergey Mikhaylovich Prokudin-Gorsky. His mission was to record - in full and vibrant color - the vast and diverse Russian Empire. Here, with his story, is a selection of his amazing century old full color pictures.

Image Credit

Blu-Death-Ray FAIL

If this picture, borrowed from

,

is any indication then ...
yes,

Blu-Ray is a Failure!

How much is enough?

Steve Ruble At Micro Persuasion touched on a subject near and dear to me...

This trip was unusual. For only the second time I left my laptop at home and traveled with just a smartphone (in my case an iPhone), a Verizon Mifi router and an 8gb Lacie Iamakey USB drive. Nevertheless, I was remarkably able to do just about everything I needed.

Steve gives a real-world example of 'How much is enough?' More importantly this example shows what the constituent elements of 'enough' are. We are finally seeing computing platforms that offer the applications and services that make them truly useful.

At the same time we are beginning to recognize the difference between what we were taught to want and what we really need. This distinction is of major importance. In previous times it was the limits technology (8088, 80286, Desktop PCs, Laptop PCs. et al). With the advent of current processor technology the device is sufficiently powerful to support every application we might want.

Now we are being liberated from the hulking behemoths not by the PC makers but by market forces that have demanded functionality in hand-held devices. With this freedom comes the understanding that an iPhone or Palm Pre will not do everything that a desktop system will. Rather our expectations are coming more inline with our needs instead of our 'wants and desires'.

Thr real freedom that we are enjoying is not the small form factor computational platform but rather a realistic assessment of our true needs.

Getting out of the mainstream...

I am not going to the walled garden to eat 140 char worms!

I am going to cut off my media nose to spite my social face.

I am no longer going to wear my cyber heart on my digital sleeve.

I am going back to posting exclusively on this blog: Pa^2 Patois. This is where all of my views, thoughts, observations, blitherings, insights, blatherings, and blah-blah-blah-yadda-yadda-yadda will emanate from. I won't be tweeting or retweeting or FF commenting or any of those micro posting things.

I have found that I cannot afford the time it takes to swim in the mainstream of social media connectivity. I cannot afford the distraction of everyone else's continuous views, thoughts, observations, blitherings, insights, blatherings, and blah-blah-blah-yadda-yadda-yadda in real time.

Now before everyone's knickers get twisted let me acknowledge the worth of your individual contributions - each insight you offer is beyond measure. My answer is to include your weblog feeds in my blogroll. If, however, you don't choose to commit it to your weblog then it will slip away, just another tiny diamond in the great information sandstorm of life.

Some one recently said that keeping a blog was a lot of work. That person observed the amount of work was most likely the imputus for favoring the micro-blogging venues. Certainly it is easier to formulate a 140 character (or less) message and flitter off to the next important topic. Blogging, done well, requires larger and longer periods of time devoted not only to thought but expression as well. Hard work indeed.

So my commitment is to try and honor your hard work by setting aside large and respectively long periods of time to read what you do commit to your weblog(s).

Now, here is the irony of my circumstance - although my intent is to only post to Pa^2 Patois I believe that my dabbling in the FaceFriendBookTwitterFeed melange is so almost incestuously interconnected that I will still appear to be present and active. Ironical, wouldn't you say...er, tweet, er... uh... Shut up Papa!

Have a mission...

thanks (_chloedancer)

Louis in the sky with diamonds...

Superflat First Love by Takashi Murakami, Full Version

Seeing with photographer's eyes...

Pocket Camera Retro Wednesday #4

My typo love...

Paper cut typography made by Julene

Milestone(d)

The previous post was my 1,111th

Useful measures of conversion...

Respectfully stolen from my Slackware Linux Fortune program ...

---

1 Billion dollars of budget deficit = 1 Gramm-Rudman
6.023 x 10 to the 23rd power alligator pears = Avocado's number
2 pints = 1 Cavort
Basic unit of Laryngitis = The Hoarsepower
Shortest distance between two jokes = A straight line
6 Curses = 1 Hexahex
3500 Calories = 1 Food Pound
1 Mole = 007 Secret Agents
1 Mole = 25 Cagey Bees
1 Dog Pound = 16 oz. of Alpo
1000 beers served at a Twins game = 1 Killibrew
2.4 statute miles of surgical tubing at Yale U. = 1 I.V.League
2000 pounds of chinese soup = 1 Won Ton
10 to the minus 6th power mouthwashes = 1 Microscope
Speed of a tortoise breaking the sound barrier = 1 Machturtle
8 Catfish = 1 Octo-puss
365 Days of drinking Lo-Cal beer. = 1 Lite-year
16.5 feet in the Twilight Zone = 1 Rod Serling
Force needed to accelerate 2.2lbs of cookies = 1 Fig-newton
to 1 meter per second
One half large intestine = 1 Semicolon
10 to the minus 6th power Movie = 1 Microfilm
1000 pains = 1 Megahertz
1 Word = 1 Millipicture
1 Sagan = Billions & Billions
1 Angstrom: measure of computer anxiety = 1000 nail-bytes
10 to the 12th power microphones = 1 Megaphone
10 to the 6th power Bicycles = 2 megacycles
The amount of beauty required launch 1 ship = 1 Millihelen

Wordsmith Extraodinaire

Spiff recommends...

Her point is...

Jennifer Maestre

Thanks /ambivalence

Lay down low and stand up swinging....

...land on me with both feet...HARD!

Let me just save...

...up enough of it so I can give it away.


. . .

Thoughts on Google's Wave

Disclaimer 1: I drank the Google Kool-aid a long time ago...

Disclaimer 2: The extent of my knowledge about Google Wave comes from the 1:20 video presentation seen at wave.google.com

1. Unlike some other social media critics I am IMPRESSED! Having few preconceptions and very little expectations I was simply blown away by the forward thinking of the Wave team.
   
2. My personal yardstick in matters of software/application tools: Does the tool meet the hand. To this I say a resounding "Yes!"

Observations:

The evolution of the Internet or any technology for that matter is not defined by desires or expectations. The evolution of technology is defined by on-the-ground, in-the-moment, proven achievements. Pundits all too often predicate their views and criticisms on their personal "vapor-ware" preferences as opposed to the existing, working, less-than-perfect real-ware tools offered in real-time.

New Word Order

Written On The City

Roasted Potato Salad... (Part 2 - The Eating)

There is something about simple potato salad. The creamy texture of the mayo, the bite of the mustard, the crunch of celery and the bright highlight of the onion all surrounding - in this case - the body of roasted potato cubes. With that last element the salad went from elegantly simple to simply elegant.

Now, if I might, let me round out the epicurian picture.

Preheat the oven to 375 F.

I removed the "silver film" from the pork tenderloin (the smaller cut, 1 - 1.5 lbs) and then tied it into a pinwheel. Salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder to taste then seared on all "sides" in 2 tbls of olive oil in a smoking hot cast iron skillet.

Once the browning is complete then cover the pork loin with strips of hickory smoked bacon. The bacon does three important things for this meal. First, it is a 'moisturizer' for the little roast. Second, it is a cooking indicator. I know I will be taken to task for saying this but, "when the bacon is done, the pork loin is done" (Yeah, I am one of those that prefers pork done. Sorry.)

Finally, the third and perhaps most important reason for the bacon is to compliment the potato salad.

So, in presentation there are three slight slices of roasted pinwheel pork loin opposite a serving of cold roasted potato salad married together with a strip of chrisp bacon.

Enjoy...

Roasted Potato Salad...

This will be an experiment in cross culinary thinking... so here goes.

I pealed and cubed a mess (4 medium & 5 small) russet potatoes. Then parboiled them, just a little too long but we will see. I had intended to only bring them to a boil and then stop but... distracted folding laundry. Subject to my own criticism - cooking is a full time, full attention activity.

I thooroughly drained and tossed the cubes with a mixture of olive oil, fresh cracked black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, crushed dried rosemary, a sprinkling of marjoram and a touch of red pepper flake. I added a little more olive oil and then spread the cubes onto a stick resistant baking sheet. Popped the whole thing into a 325 F oven and set the timer for 15 minutes.

Turned them gently, still soft, due to being over parboiled. I will have to watch that next time.

Second turning begins to show a little body to the cubes. No color yet.

Like the Emril Lagassi fellow is fond of saying, I wish you could have Smell-o-vision ... just the scent of these roasting potatoes is to die for. Now I am torn. Just a second...

Third turn - cubes are now quite firm and beginning to show a haze of that GBD color (Golden Brown Delicious).

So I am torn... and so here is my resolve. I will divide this nearly 6 cups of cubes and only make potato salad with half of them. Just have to eat the rest of them straight up...maybe...

decisions...decisions...

We are all children of the digital age...

... it is just that some of us have more analog baggage than others.

My overgrown field is not empty!

I would call it more lazy than green. I stopped mowing the majority of our 1.58 acre parcel some time ago. It actually started out of boredom. I was bored with mowing a 1.58 acre short grass fairway. Open Mowing sums it up rather well...

This morning while I was out assessing the state of our poison ivy patch I saw a devastating sight. I cursed. I swore. My heart wept at the sight. Some lowlife careless human being had thoughtlessly driven their automobile across a section of my unmowed (unmown ?) yard. Worse still they flattened a 3 year old White Pine.

This isn't just any White Pine. This isn't a nursery 3 year old. No, this is a grown from a single twiglette sapling planted by my own hands White Pine. One of the few that we could find again after the grass grew tall at summer's end. One of the fewer still that survived not only the first winter but the second which included a wicked ice storm. Now to be laid low by some careless person who could not see that my overgrown field is not empty.

Cast Iron perspectives...

Carrying a 10" cast iron skillet full of boiling water from the stove to the sink offered a clear lesson: keep the water level. It is not about carrying the pan level. It is about keeping the boiling water calm and level.

Building a structure on a hillside might require extreme architectural measure but it can all be overcome by keeping the contained space level and calm.

A potter seeking to throw a utilitarian vessel must keep the contained space level and calm.

In personal relationships no matter how jagged and acute the angles one's heart must remain level and calm.

Don't watch this video... it will only confuse you.

For everyone else there's...

Thanks to

The Linux and Unix Menagerie

FUD: Don't get it on your shoes - it stains.

First: BrandIndex - cited as the authority that Mircrosoft is winning the PC vs. Mac war... Okay, but when I went to visit BrandX BrandIndex this is what I found...

Latest News Alerts

Below are some of the latest news alerts from BrandIndex - all stories are delayed by at least 24 hours.

Retail Downturn Rains on Macy's Parade »

Date Posted: 01 December 2008

Macy’s and it’s strong reputation scores

Please, note the date of this late breaking news item ... Hmmmmm, probably has a strong grip on the current market situation. Further down the page we got all the way to ...

The Recession Tracker: The Real Story of the Recession »

Date Posted: 20 February 2009

All the way up to 20 February 2009 - late breaking news....

---

Then there was the case of the the cataclysmic concern that SSDs Can't Replace HDDs ...

Report: SSDs Can't Replace HDDs

. . .

However, storage system integration specialist Origin Storage quickly fired back at the company's claim, saying that any plan to replace magnetic hard drives--especially in laptops--is doomed to failure. Why? Andy Cordial, Origin Storage's managing director, said that SSDs definitely have their place, but cannot replace the "flexibility" and "longevity" that magnetic drives offer most laptop users in rugged environments and other "specialist" situations.

Always cordial, Andy Cordial makes his case that SSD 'cannot replace ... magnetic drives...'

In other late breaking news pundits affirm that the horseless carriage will never replace ol' Bossy and the surrey with the fringe on top.

Just lego yo feelin's

Maniac T-Shirt

Again with the negative vibes...

"Why Linux Is Not (Yet) Ready for the Desktop"

Linked by Thom Holwerda on Mon 18th May 2009 19:06 UTC

We all know them. We all hate them. They are generally overdone, completely biased, or so vague they border on the edge of pointlessness (or toppled over said edge). Yes, I'm talking about those "Is Linux ready for the desktop" articles. Still, this one is different .

Let me be very clear here: Linux should not be used for mainstream desktops.

That being said it doesn't matter how succinct or eloquent the kvetching ... it is still kvetching. Artem S. Tashkinov ( this one is different ) has simple stated the one-sided obvious - a.) Linux is not Windows and b.) Linux is not suited for mainstream desktop use.

Okay! Please take your ball and bat and go home! Stop kvetching that something you obviously don't like isn't meeting your standards. Okay! Use Windows!

Linux should not be used for mainstream desktops. This is in part true because most desktop users are not computer literate enough to use anything but the most simple point-n-click user interface. This is in part true because the majority of users don't care how/when/why/where things get done - they only want it to happen in a way that they won't have to think about.

Windows is the best OS for automatons! Don't let them near Linux, they will only hurt themselves.

(I have been using Linux as a desktop OS since the turn of the century. I know first hand that it is not Windows. From my ivory-tower geek perspective the merits of Linux so far out-weigh Windows that the seeming sacrifice is well worth it.)

Too much "stuff"...

Recently I have become aware of a growing interest in small homes...

Welcome. Come on in. My name is Jay Shafer and since 1997 I have been living in houses smaller than some people’s closets. I call the first of my little hand built houses Tumbleweed. My decision to inhabit just 89 square feet arose from some concerns I had about the impact a larger house would have on the environment, and because I do not want to maintain a lot of unused or unusable space. My houses have met all of my domestic needs without demanding much in return. The simple, slower lifestyle my homes have afforded is a luxury for which I am continually grateful. Read more…

I once lived in an apartment with two other college chums in the "good old days". It was a two bedroom apartment but we talked the landlord into allowing me to move in ... to the 6Wx9Lx10h closet. (Desperate times called for desperate measures.) It was a time before "stuff". Previously I had been living in my step-van - one of those little right-hand drive mail delivery trucks. I just didn't have much "stuff".

With a 6'x2' window at the far end and a 4'x8' loft for sleeping suspended I had both a vista and almost twice the floor space, as it were. Rolling out of bed in the morning was a bit interesting ... a nearly 6' drop to the floor required a clear head and certain physical agility.

Now when I see how well appointed some of these tiny homes are I am very envious. But more than the appointments I am envious of the lack of "stuff". How very neat and clean these small homes appear. Oh to have such a simple life. Oh the irony of having just purchased a 10x16 'shed' (unfinished on the inside) to hold just some of my "stuff". Some of the "stuff" that owns me.

How conveeeeenient.... more Bushillt!

Bush's 'Smoking Gun' Witness Found Dead
IndictBushNow files Freedom of Information Act lawsuit to get to bottom of story

The cover-up of Bush-era crimes is taking a shocking but not unexpected turn. A fateful move has been made and it is certain to backfire.

Colin Powell used al-Libi's tortured and knowingly fabricated testimony to tell the United Nations that Saddam Hussein's government was helping al-Qaeda develop weapons of mass destruction to kill Americans. It was all a lie.

IndictBushNow.org is joining with the Partnership for Civil Justice Fund and the ANSWER Coalition to demand that the truth be told. We have filed a Freedom of Information Act Request (FOIA) with the CIA, Department of Defense, Department of State and other agencies to reveal information in their possession about Libi’s imprisonment, torture, false testimony on Iraq and the circumstances of his death. To read a copy of the FOIA, click this link.

A prisoner who was horribly tortured in 2002 until he agreed - at the demand of Bush torturers - to say that al-Qaeda was linked to Saddam Hussein is suddenly dead. Several weeks ago, Human Rights Watch investigators discovered the missing inmate and talked to him. He had been secretly transferred by the administration to a prison in Libya after having been held by the CIA both in secret “black hole prisons” and in Egypt.

Under conditions of extreme torture, the prisoner, Ibn al-Sheikh al-Libi, agreed in 2002 to supply the Bush-ordered interrogators what they sought as a political cover for Bush’s marketing of the pending war of aggression against Iraq. Mr. Libi agreed to tell them whatever they wanted in exchange for an end to the torture. The now famous Torture Memos providing legal cover for the torture were written at the same time starting in the summer of 2002.

Libi’s tortured and knowingly fabricated testimony was the source of information used by Bush to sell the war to the U.S. Senate, and the source for Colin Powell’s bogus and lying presentation to the United Nations in 2003.

Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld and Rice are now running around saying that the torture regime “protected the country from terrorist attack.” But the torture was used for the personal political goals of Bush and Cheney: namely, to sell their Iraq invasion to a very skeptical and disbelieving country.

Having been discovered by human rights investigators two weeks ago, Mr. Libi’s story coincided with the release of the Torture Memos and the growing clamor for criminal prosecutions of Bush officials.

His testimony is the smoking gun that would reveal that the torture regime was not for “national security” but for the personal political aims of Bush and Cheney.

He was Exhibit A in the indictment that alleges that tortured confessions and the contrived legal justifications of torture set up by Justice Department lawyers in July/August 2002 were central to the launch of the war against Iraq.

Hundreds of thousands of Iraqis have died and tens of thousands of U.S. service members have either been killed or badly wounded in a war that was based on lies fortified and promoted by the most sadistic torture.

Mr. Libi is suddenly dead. A Libyan “newspaper source” says that his death is an apparent suicide. His friends don’t believe that.

Barack O Spock, man

"Now that we have a vulcan in the Whitehouse..."
- comment by NPR interviewee



















Thanks /Ambivalence

Graffiti - Watchmen

Smashing Magazine

Busting your Bubble: Security is on the rise...

...perhaps because us niche Geeks are demanding it.

In a quiet and understated expose my long time Internet friend and verbal jousting opponent, Mr. Steven Hodson, in his rambling diatribe, Whining about a secure Windows, took me to task for asking "Why?" Why we can't get a secure copy of Windows XP.

He states and I agreed that Microsoft has provided a product for 'Joe Average' who "... just want[s] to be able to turn on the machine and do their stuff." Security down through the Windows ages, says the Crankster, ...

wasn’t high on anyone’s priority list.

Microsoft paid heavily for this and continues to pay for it to this day. Unfortunately though Microsoft suffered from another major problem – it was too popular. While it may have had made billions from this popularity they did it by appealing to everyone and their proverbial brother. They weren’t in the market to cater to niche type users.

Yeah, well, I guess I am just a niche guy looking for a secure OS. Now, here is the rub - as the Cranky Old Fart was so very gracious to point out - I am a network administrator. I am the guy that people call when their instance of Windows XP doesn't allow them to blithely "do their thing and not worry about all that ‘other stuff’."

I am the 'Computer Police'. I am the policy enforcer who has to employ all the cobbled together bits and after-thought pieces that Microsoft finally acknowledged as necessary security "fixes". And yes, my 'Joe&Jane Average' users complain mightily when they encounter the cold hard edges of Administrator imposed limits. But you should hear how LOUD they complain when their WinXP won't allow them to work at all because of some "harmless" visit to You2CanWinMillions.com.

I do not disagree that the majority of Windows XP users just want to be able to turn on their PC and do what ever they do without having to jump through a huge number of hoops. I do not however believe that just because the average user has no more PC savvy than the plastic mouse they so delicately fondle while surfing God know where that this is a valid excuse for knowingly fielding the height of OS mediocrity.

Now, lets take a brief moment to check in on some 'average' friends of mine, XP users. On average their PC is delivered to Dave-the-PC-Guy three times a year for a Format-n-Reload. Why? Because my friends Jim&Jill Average are the typical users you described. AND... Microsoft Windows XP is sooooo vulnerable - UNLESS - you jump through all.those.freaking.pesky.hoops.

Yeah, I am the niche guy complaining loudly about security. Yeah, I am the niche guy who adopted Slackware Linux early. Yeah, I am the niche guy who has to worry about all the issues that Joe&Jane and Jim&Jill just simply ignore. Yeah, and then I read the last paragraph of the article that I quoted from earlier about the USAF...

Gilligan also said that he hopes that this project marks the beginning of the end of companies arrogantly resisting locking down their products. "They're still in the model that they want to give all the features enabled to clients," he said, "But I think we've reached a point where that model is one that is no longer effective. I'm of the opinion that all products ought to be configured with these locked-down configurations, and if the customer decides they want to undo them, then they can do that. They cannot continue fielding products where the cost that is being borne by the consumer in terms of having to maintain configurations and deal with attacks is so high." [Link to original article.]

---

P.S. Related Article

MCRC Blog - 2009

Apr 22, 2009

How a cybergang operates a network of 1.9 million infected computers

Today we announced our recent discovery of a network of 1.9 million infected computers controlled by cybercriminals. This is one of the largest bot networks controlled by a single team of cybercriminals (or cybergang) that we found this year. In this blog post we will provide you with additional details about this network, the malware in use and how the operators are using it to make money – after all, this is the main drive for cybercrime today.

Yeah, 1.9 million infected computers running Microsoft OSs.

Okay but how about the rest of us???

USAF's Locked-Down Windows XP Configuration

posted by Thom Holwerda on Sun 3rd May 2009 09:16 UTC, submitted by SReilly
. . .
So, the USAF talked to Ballmer, and the CEO actually got personally involved in the project. "He has half-a-dozen clients that he personally gets involved with, and he saw that this just made a lot of sense," Gilligan said, "They had already done preliminary work themselves trying to identify what would be a more secure configuration. So we fine-tuned and added to that."
. . .
So, how secure is this system? Gilligan said that 85% of attacks are blocked by the new configuration. "Turns out when you configure things properly and don't touch them, they actually work pretty well," he added. The Air Force configuration is now in use in many other departments because it has been such a success.

My first question is, "Why can't we 'regular' folks get the same level of consideration and protection from Microsoft???"

The only conclusion I can draw is that Microsoft doesn't care about us 'regular' folks. In their seeming lack of caring they are fielding a product that they know is substandard. They continue to sell us this substandard product because we, unlike the USAF, cannot afford to call Steve Ballmer on the carpet and demand it be fixed. So, now that it has been fixed, how about the rest of us?

When can I get my locked-down secure version of Windows XP???

Back to biscuits and blogging...

After a hiatus of more than two weeks Sunday morning finds me back in the kitchen at the keyboard...

The latest batch of biscuits are now cooling having been taken out of the oven just moments ago... hot melty goodness... flavored this time with sharp cheddar and spicy hot breakfast sausage. Here in Kentucky all I need is a little milk gravy made up from the sausage skillet and it would be a little bit of 'hawg heaven' on a plate. Iffen they aren't eaten right away they will make great hand breakfasts at least until Tuesday.

Blogging has taken a seat way in the back of my short bus. My last posting,
Words and work to live by..., was both a great observation made by Hugh ...and... prophetic. Allow me to elucidate.

I have the very great luxury of being able to work tenaciously at something I do in fact love ... Information System Management. Okay, so I'm a nerd. Sure, it doesn't have a distinctive ring, say like, "Musician" or "Artist" but it is my vocation and more importantly my avocation.

This pottering about with computers and networks and the like affords me another great reward. In addition to all the more mundane concerns I am afforded the opportunity to take time off. In this case my time began just after my last blog post and ran until last Wednesday. By the calendar it was 12 days. The first and last of those days were for travel from here in Kentucky to southern Michigan and then back again.

Albion is in southern Michigan. Shenstone's anagama kiln is in Albion. Firing of this, the largest kiln of its kind in north America, started just before midnight on Friday the 17th. 10 days later, just before midnight, the firing was declared complete and the kiln was sealed. A two week cooling period follows.

The following morning I got up and spent the day traveling back to Philpot Kentucky, back to hearth and home.

... back to biscuits and blogging.

Words and work to live by...

It was 20 years ago today...

For those of us who live in a free society ... we should remember the price that is paid. We must remember that freedom is not free.

The Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 culminating in the Tiananmen Square Massacre.

The Cook's Biscuit

Another life lesson comes from the pursuit of the biscuit...

Once the dry and wet ingredients are combined the dough is turned out on a lightly floured counter. Absolute minimum kneading is prescribed. My objective is to bring the dough mass together incorporating the crumbly bits with the least amount of massaging. I then form the dough into a flattened layer approximately 3/4" thick.

The life lesson comes from the physics of cutting biscuit rounds from the formed dough. No matter how meticulous the placement of the cuts there are always edges and pieces. Combined and formed the pieces render one more cut round.

Once the last one is cut then there is the Cook's Biscuit. By combining the last pieces and parts there is one last biscuit, ill formed and imperfectly shaped. It is the biscuit reserved for the cook.

Didjaheartheoneabouthe...

A Jew, a Christian, a Buddhist and a Muslim all walk into a bar, and the bartender says “What is this? Some kind of joke?”

Thanks Boyd @ /Ambivalence

Oh by the way did I mention...

thank you, Gahan Wilson!

...lovingly borrowed from James Ford

Pa^2 agrees with Web^2

Web^2 (Web squared) has a nice ring to it.

O'Reilly's example gives me very serious cause to consider the iPhone. (Yeah, I actually said that.)

Big Brotha! (This makes me very sad!)

April 6th, 2009

Obama Administration Embraces Bush Position on Warrantless Wiretapping and Secrecy

Says Court Must Dismiss Jewel v. NSA to Protect 'State Secrets'

San Francisco - The Obama administration formally adopted the Bush administration's position that the courts cannot judge the legality of the National Security Agency's (NSA's) warrantless wiretapping program, filing a motion to dismiss Jewel v. NSA late Friday.

In Jewel v. NSA, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is challenging the agency's dragnet surveillance of millions of ordinary Americans. The Obama Justice Department claims in its motion that litigation over the wiretapping program would require the government to disclose privileged "state secrets." These are essentially the same arguments made by the Bush administration three years ago in Hepting v. AT&T, EFF's lawsuit against one of the telecom giants complicit in the NSA spying.

Read complete article at Electronic Freedom Foundation

Great Design @ Loose Canvas

hugh macleod's NEW upcoming book, "Ignore Everybody" chapter titles rendered by Patrick Brennan

Grumpy Papa stuff...

I am not going as fast
as you need to get there.

(Thoughts on not exceeding the speed limit.)

Biscuit Redough

When I turned my latest batch of biscuit dough out on the counter I was afraid that I had created the proverbial flour hockey puck ... or as the Blues Brothers famously cited, "a rrrrrrubber biscuit." Instead of the sticky adhesive biscuit-batter that I would have to try and very gently knead I had a dry solid mass.

Immediately recriminating thoughts ran through my mind, 'two table spoons of bacon crumbles was too much' and 'a 1/3 Cup of cheese was excessive' or 'I must have mis-measured the milk'. No matter what the possible cause I have killed this batch of biscuits.

Dejectedly I patted the mass down to 1/2-3/4 inch thickness and started cutting rounds. It was a bit disquieting to twist the cutter down and feel the crepitus
of bacon bits being crushed ... but I pressed on. I kept a wary eye on them during the 10th and 11th minutes of baking. Just quick checks so as not to cool the oven too much.

Oh me of little faith...

They didn't turn out great but they were good. I was pleasantly surprised. The tribe ate every last one, even commenting on how tasty they were. A hearty compliment to my Urban Gourmand Potato-Corn Chowder.

So this is where I wanted to make some insightful philosophical or theological observation on the importance of the symbolic marriage of flour, salt, milk and leavening. I wanted to acknowledge the primal importance of the food ritual and its sustaining of life. I wanted to pay homage to the beneficence of a greater power.

All I can really say is that my faith in the biscuit remains.

The race is on...

First saw it here ... really comes from Glennz

Fortune Cookie # 637

A bargain is not a bargain
unless you can use the product.

Anagama Moon

Arriving for my shift I had to take a moment to marvel...


KilnMoon
Originally uploaded by william_meloney

Religion: A Convenient Belief

H.L.Mencken once said “The average man does not want to be free. He simply wants to be safe.”

...and he wants his beliefs to be safe as well.

I won't stop climbing mountains...

...but I have little desire to climb the same ones twice.

I am not my work...

...any more than a potter is one of her pots or a psychologist is one of his patients.

Sadly men and I now assume a goodly number of women attempt to classify each other with the off-hand question, "So, what do you do?"

From personal experience this is a form of the age old Alpha-(fe)male-posturing behavior. Lacking, as I am, the social graces to make pleasant conversational small talk I simply fall back on to the convenience of finding my place by asking the newcomer what he or she does. I can then quickly assess how low I must bow or what subtle level of contempt I may allow myself to have for this person.

Unfortunate!

Unfortunately we have given the convenience such simple social posturing the upper hand in our lives. Now we allow ourselves to "be" what we do. Some even go so far as to obscure our real lives behind the facade of our "doing".

Breaking out of this circumstance is very difficult. I know full well the discomfort that I felt (feel) when an acquaintance that I am on comfortable speaking terms with has repeatedly refused to define himself by what he does.

The Painted Bird is a controversial 1965 novel by Jerzy Kosiński which describes the world as seen by a young boy, "considered a Gypsy or Jewish stray," who wanders about small towns scattered around Central or Eastern Europe (presumably Poland) during World War II.

Kosiński, when asked how he could speak so distantly and unaffectionately about such a intimate and seemingly autobiographical work stated simply, "It no longer belongs to me."

The Zen of ... the Biscuit

“Poetry is the synthesis of hyacinths and biscuits.”
~ Carl Sandburg

I have recently taken up the quintessential meditation - trancendental biscuitry. Requiring the clearing of one's mind. Necessary is mise en place - the gathering and placement of the ingredients. Then comes the ritual. Turn off the monkey-mind, clear away the baggage of the day. Unfocus, so as to see clearly.

Let the hands work without condition. Allow the biscuit to be - in its before form. Embrace the inner biscuit. Do not clutch at it or insist that it conform. Ask it to manifest its biscuitness. Go along with the biscuit for its journey not yours. Then surrender the biscuit to the mother oven. Leave it there to become. The biscuit will tell you when you both have arrived.

Always remember that it is not a light flakey morsel but the biscuit becoming that we seek.

---

Today's meditation was gracious and forgiving. Having misread the recipe (yes, I am still bound by the written word - it is only my third time after all) I tripled the salt but then removed half. Instead of using my trusty wooden spoon I opted for an industrial spatula. With it I applied the very minimum number of folds to incorporate the wet and dry ingredients which included a table spoon of chrisp (real) bacon bits and a 1/4 cup of chedar cheese.

Turned out on the lightly dusted counter I applied only 8 kneads and then patted the dough to the desired thickness. I have opted for the 1/2 pint mason jar as my cutter - the only drawback is the vaccuum that prevents the newly cut biscuit from plopping back out. Perhaps a bit more flouring is in order.

Each biscuit then went "face" down on the baking sheet. 10 minutes at 420-something (really do need to acquire a proper oven thermometer). Then an extra 1 minute. I assume that the cheese made for the slight sticking to the sheet pan but they came up cleanly with a serving spatula. Then on to a cooling rack so their bottoms wouldn't steam into paste.

Pork fat rulez! Everything is better with bacon.

2008 Political Retrospective...Bork, bork bork!

Making an informed choice would have been so much easier if I had seeen this then...

“Ada Lovelace Day” Pledge

Pledge “AdaLovelaceDay”

"I will publish a blog post on Tuesday 24th March about a woman in technology whom I admire but only if 1,000 other people will do the same."

— Suw Charman-Anderson (contact)

Madams Curie and Meloney...

The following is reproduced with the gracious permission of the

The Marie Curie Radium Campaign

HE NEVER OVERCAME STAGE FRIGHT as a professor, though she taught for nearly 30 years. Yet in order to turn the Radium Institute into a world-class institution, Curie shamelessly sought out assistance, just as she had done during the war years to create the radiological service. Throughout her career Curie had benefitted from the subsidies of wealthy French benefactors. Now, thanks to the interest of an American woman, U.S. citizens also became involved in filling the needs of the Radium Institute.

“[Curie], who handles daily a particle of radium more dangerous than lightning, was afraid when confronted by the necessity of appearing before the public.”--Stéphane Lauzanne, editor-in-chief of Le Matin

Despite her distrust of journalists, in May 1920 Curie agreed to give an interview to Mrs. William Brown Meloney, editor of an American women's magazine. In the interview Curie emphasized the needs of her institution, where research was just resuming following the devastating war. Thanks to her alliance with industry, few labs in the world if any were better equipped with radium than Curie's. But Curie succeeded in shocking Meloney by emphasizing the fact that research and therapy centers in the United States together had about 50 times as much radium as the single gram she--the scientist who had discovered the element--had in her laboratory. When Meloney learned that Curie's most fervent wish was for a second gram for her laboratory, the editor organized a “Marie Curie Radium Campaign.”

Meloney, Irène, Marie and Eve shortly after their arrival in the United States, where the press dubbed Eve “the girl with the radium eyes.”

Led by a committee of wealthy American women and distinguished American scientists, the campaign succeeded by soliciting contributions in the United States. Meloney also arranged for Curie to write an autobiographical work for an American publisher. The book would provide royalty income over the years. Equally important, it would capture in simple and moving prose the romantic and heroic image of science that was so helpful for public support and fund-raising.

---

While I take certain pride in relating this anecdote I remind myself and you gentle reader that Madam Curie's hardest work, under the worst possible clinical circumstances, was done well before fame and fortune smiled upon her. Moreover, it is noteworthy that for all of Marie Curie's belief in the beneficence of radium as a gift to science and medicine its pursuit most certainly contributed to her general weakness and ill health.

---

A fine letter from Curie, written in English, to a major American benefactor, discussing her book – her own autobiography combined with a biography of her husband Pierre, her work at the Radium Institute in Paris, and her association with Indian leader Surendranath Banerjea.

Born Marya Sklodowska in Poland, Marie Curie made her scientific career in Paris, first with her husband Pierre and then on her own after his untimely death. Known for her investigation of radioactivity and the discovery of polonium and of radium, she won two Nobel Prizes, one in physics in 1903 along with Pierre and Henri Becquerel and one in chemistry in 1911. Following World War I, Curie devoted herself to the newly-opened Radium Institute at the University of Paris, and made it an international center for the study of radioactivity. For research there, however, she needed more radium, which had become extremely costly.

That deficiency was remedied through the efforts of Marie Mattingly Meloney (1878-1943), an American journalist and magazine editor who had long admired Curie and who learned of her laboratory’s need for radium during a May 1919 interview with her. Meloney organized a fund-raising campaign among American women to secure the $100,000 needed to purchase a gram of radium for Curie, and arranged for Curie to visit the United States in the spring of 1921 to be officially presented with the gift at a White House ceremony. Meloney also urged Curie to write her autobiography, and after much prodding, Curie agreed to do so, adding it as a supplement to the biography of Pierre Curie that she was then preparing. She discusses both parts of her book in the first half of this letter.

Long and substantive letters by Curie, in any language, are quite scarce, as are letters by her written in English. The combination of the two here makes this letter an exceptional rarity. $15,000.00

---

Catherine Barnes

P. O. Box 27782
Philadelphia, PA 19118
USA
Phone: 215-247-9240
Email: mail@barnesautographs.com

An old friend, half the world away...

"Mo" was a gift in 1974. He appeared as if summoned by an ancient incantation. His mischievous smile and quick wit would brightened the most Al-bone day. Then, as is often the case, he moved the tassel to the other side of the mortar board and disappeared almost as mysteriously as he had arrived. Left lingering in the air was the poetry of his name, Mohezin Tejani.

So on a lark I Googled Mo ... and just look what I found: The Chameleon's Tale.

Now you can apologize to Rush...

Now you can draft your own "apology" to Rush just like the pros do it. Best of all, we'll share your "apologies" with Rush personally.

Check it out >>

Olechko - Worthy of note

Sunday brunch at Campania

(Disclaimer: I have no vested interest in this artist's work I just like his paintings)

Lining everyone else's pockets...

Senate Stalls on Housing Bankruptcy Bill

Friday 13 March 2009

by: Kevin Drawbaugh and Corbett B. Daly | Visit article original @ Reuters

Mary Ann Herrera at her home in San Antonio. Legislation that could help homeowners is bogged down in the Senate. (Photo: Eric Gay / AP)

Washington - Legislation meant to help distressed U.S. homeowners by allowing bankruptcy courts to adjust the terms of mortgages on primary residences has stalled in the Senate, said congressional aides on Friday.

Democrats backing the bill - known as "cramdown" and opposed by most of the banking industry - have been unable to line up the 60 votes needed to clear the way procedurally for it to move ahead, the aides said.

"We're stuck in a place where we don't have 60 votes to pass the House bill as is," said an aide to a senior Democrat.

They can find it in their hearts to give BILLIONS to A.I.G. but they cannot help the guy on Main Street.

... and people wonder why, as a culture, we have such contempt and distrust of politicians!!!

From the department of HUH!?!?

Employee Free Choice Act as Stimulus for US Economy

Friday 13 March 2009

by: Seth Sandronsky, t r u t h o u t | Perspect

. . .

All things constant, the more a worker earns, the less she needs to borrow to get by.

. . .

In fairness Seth Sandronsky's article focused on the economic merits and faults of organized labor. But...

This single sentence epitomizes in my view the real problem of our economy. We as a nation have gotten to the point where we feel compelled to 'borrow to get by.'

'To get by' suggests to my mind a base level of economic existence. Having been independently poor for the majority of my life I believe that I have a well established sense of what it takes 'to get by.' I can say that it doesn't include a McMansion, a "bubble" salary, the right clothes, or other trappings of our social largess. It does mean living within our means.

My observation is that for much too long we have established our desired life style and then tried to afford it on our earnings. This could well precipitate a need to 'borrow to get by.' Wouldn't it be much better all the way around to establish our earnings and then live an affordable life style?

Huh?

I like Pi

3.14159

Happy Pi Day!

...beyond the primal fear box.

Ronni Bennett from Time Goes By, Elder News shared this ...

Sad news. On 7 March, 78-year-old Gene Maudlin who blogged for four years at Old Horsetail Snake died. According to a lovely tribute to him at A Mark on My Wall,

“Gene died today utilizing Oregon’s Death with Dignity plan. He was tuckered out from trying to breathe. His Scamp was with him at Hospice Hopewell House.”

Gene's site was one of the best daily laughs in the blogosphere. He was irascible, irreverent, profane and fall-down funny. His blog is archived here. Give yourself a smile or two today and read some of it.

I took an involuntary breath, a small gasp, when I read 'Oregon's Death with Dignity plan.' The small gasp surprised me. Why?

I have long been a staunch supporter of personal life/death rights. I believe that every individual should be allowed to make decisions regarding their "quality of life". I believe that every individual should be allowed to decide when to initiate their own death process.

That having been said let me acknowledge that such a decision, 'to initiate their own death process', is not the same as wantonly taking one's own life in desperation or fear. It is of paramount importance that we acknowledge that our frail biological canister we call our body has very finite resources. I believe we should honor and acknowledge this fact in accepting gracefully that eventually our body will stop functioning properly. When that becomes obvious to the person then we must have programs like Oregon's Death with Dignity plan.

So what can I take away from my surprise gasp?

Here is a man, Gene Maudlin, that I never knew. Until Ronnie mentioned him and his blog I would have never had the opportunity to discover Gene. (Sadly the blogosphere is so huge that many great and small, like me, will go undiscovered.) So, what can I take away from my surprise gasp?

I am not the only one who gasps. I am not the only one who is surprised when they gasp.

I surmise that a great number of folks upon gasping and possibly being surprised simply turn their backs on the matter. Reacting to a sort of primal fear they label Oregon's Death with Dignity plan as bad. Without giving any thought to Gene's personal circumstance. Without giving any thought to the extensive soul searching that Gene did prior to making his decision. Without knowing that the people who really knew Gene honored and supported his decision.

Human beings are great because we have the ability to move beyond our primal fears. So, while you are moving 'beyond the box' take Ronnie's good advise and read some of Gene Maudlin. His blog is archived here. Give yourself a smile or two today and read some of it.

My father would have loved this... Thanks Gene!

A young ventriloquist is touring the clubs and one day he stops to entertain in one of the many bars in West VirginiaKentucky. He's going through his normal run of stupid jokes when a large fellow in about the fourth row stands on his chair and says, "I 've heard just about enough of your denigrating jokes."

He continues to berate the joker. "What makes you think you can stereotype us that way. I'ts guys like you who keep people like me from being respected at work and in the community, or of reaching their full potential as a person, because you and your kind continue to perpetuate discrimination against us, all in the name of humor."

Flustered, the ventriloquist begins to apologize, when the harrasser pipes up, "You stay out of this, Mister. I'm talking to that little jerk on your knee."

What does one TRILLION dollars look like?

What does one TRILLION dollars look like?

Nope! Think BIGGER!!!

WAY BIGGER

"Beyond the Box"

Coined by yours truly, the new mantra for our time...

If we are to really grow in these perilous times then we must indeed...

Think beyond the box!

Strawberry fields forever...

Thanks Sean

Middle is the new black...

Now we are starting to see the New Calvinism take hold, and being middle class is once again something to laud or hold onto...

- /ambivalence

How sad!!!

That living-within-one's-means (exercising fiscal responsibility) while being an average Joe working an average job is now something to be lauded. I wonder if the 'New Calvinism' will protect all those upper-class-wannabes who built their McMansions over in the new economic subdivision, the gated community of Gluttony, right on the corner of Sodom and Gomorrah.

Sunday Salavation: Salmon Eggs

No, no, not roe... from the Urban Gourmand series...

Hot cuisine during the econolapse, er... econolypse, er... downturn.

(This worked so well I really should have taken pictures...)

Two small potatoes, cut into 1/4" cubes.
Half a slice of homemade pumpernickel bread, cut into 1/4" cubes

2 eggs
1 green onion
1/3 cup salmon, flaked. (Leftover from Friday's baked salmon fillets)

---

Potatoes go into a HOT skillet with 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Salt and pepper to taste. As they begining to brown (2-3 min.) toss and add a little more olive oil.

Finely chop the green onion (ya'll call 'em scallions) and add to the 1/3 cup flaked baked salmon. Mix ever so gently so they become good friends.

Even small cubed potatoes take a while to cook so don't rush the process. Use that fancy wrist-flick and give them a good toss. Spread them back out so each cube has at least one side down to the skillet.

Now timing is everything. Taste a potato. Done? Done-ish? Done-ok? then add in the bread cubes. Toss them to soak up any residual flavor fortified olive oil. Continue over moderate heat.

Now like I said, timing is everything. Heat a clean skillet with one drop of water in the center. When the water evaporates spray the skillet with the non-stick cooking spray of your choice. Vigorously beat the two eggs and add to the clean-hot-sprayed skillet. Commence to scramble.

Timing is EVERYTHING. Add the salmon&green onion (ya'll call 'em scallions) mixture when the scrambled eggs are just beginning to coalesce (reads still wet but firming up fast.) Continue to scramble until they are still moist (they look slightly undercooked) then plate them. Don't wait! They will finish cooking while you plate the potatoes.

Enjoy!

I found the potato/pumpernickle an interesting counter point to the salmon&green onion.

Bonus nonsense:

Stan Freberg Lyrics

"Stan Freberg Christmas Dragnet lyrics"

This is the season.
My name's Wednesday.
My partner's Frank Jones.
The Chief's name is Captain Kellogg.

December the 24th, Christmas Eve.
They brought in a guy named 'Grudge'.
When I heard what they booked him on, my blood ran cold.
It was a 4096325- 096704: not believing in Santa Claus.

4:35 p.m.
I was working the holiday watch out of homicide with Frank.

"Hang up your stocking yet, Joe?"

"Yeah, just before I come down. You too Frank?"

"Alway do.
Hung it up early just in case I have'ta work late tonight.
Wouldn't wanna miss out on when Santa Claus comes you know. "

"Sure wouldn't, be a shame."

"Whatcha gonna do tomorrow, Joe?
Whatcha gonna do on Christmas, got any plans?"

"Nothin' much."

"Why don't you come by the house Joe?
We're gonna have Christmas dinner.
You know, all the trimmings:
turkey, celery stuffing, oysters maybe.
Chestnuts, all the trimmings, you know.
Cranberry sauce, love'ta have ya.
The Missus always fixes a plate of relish
with them little carrot sticks.
You know, olives, pickles, scallions.
Most people call them green onions, but they're really scallions.
Did you ever notice that Joe?"

"Notice what Frank?"

"How most people call them green onions but they're really scallions."

"Uh-huh. Scallions."

"Anytime after two, Joe. Love ta have ya."

"Uh-huh. Well I'll see."

"Love ta have ya."

"Uh-huh. Well, I'll see."

"Love ta have ya."

"Uh-huh. Well, I'll see."

"Missus always fixes a plate of relish with them little carrot sticks.
You know - olives, pickles, scallions."

t r u t h o u t | President Barack Obama: Toward a Better Day

t r u t h o u t | President Barack Obama: Toward a Better Day




Isn't' it refreshing to hear from a public official who doesn't sound like he is fibbin'? A president who doesn't sound like he was just caught with his hand in the cookie jar?

International Women's Day

About International Women's Day 2009

Russia Today:

International Women’s Day: from rallies to flowers

Thoughts on Xfce 4.6.0

Xfce, the cholesterol free X windows desktop environment, is rock solid. Thanks to Robby Workman's excellent packaging it went right in and worked from the very first startx.

Only one personal gotcha in the upgrade. I was/am/will be a BIG fan of the right-button-click access to the full application menu. Oh, I know it is in there...but another level down... and it used to be soooo simple.

Explanation to follow...

It is always the smallest of things that seem to bring the wheels of progress to a screeching halt - sand in the gears, if you will.

Well the 'one personal gotcha' turned out to be just the tip of the iceberg.

Papa's Rule #3: If a tool doesn't meet the hand, don't pick it up.

If you have ever tried to do real work with someone else's hammer you know exactly what I am referring to. This applies to the intimate art of personal computing. This is the foundation of my interest and full time use of Linux. With Linux I have been afforded a selection of tools to choose from. With Linux I have found a selection of tools that meet the hand.

That is until I encountered Xfce 4.6.0. By way of subtle recanting the things I said about Robby Workman's packaging are absolutely true - it did install and run flawlessly. Then the little grains of sand in 4.6.0 began to grind against my gears.

I mentioned the Applications menu - being 'buried' another level down on the right-button-click menu. I might have been able to overcome this except for one very important thing. When I went to Menu Edit and tried to customize I ended up with a boulder in my gear box. The Menu Editor could see my previously customized menu ( ~/.config/.../menu.xml). It would even let me edit and save it. BUT when I went back to the right-button-click menu my customizations were not available. ARRRRGH! FAIL!

Then there was another little tiny gain of sand that found its way into my well oiled GUI. A small matter of the panel applet for accessing the audio mixer. Oh, sure, it worked well enough BUT the applet itself did not have the volume slider bar control on the panel itself. Again, I would have to drill into the mixer control to adjust the volume. Three steps backwards, one step forward.

Now before my critic(s?) claim that I wasn't diligent I went on to try the Volume Control applet. Which appears to be exactly the same as the Mixer Control applet.

Resolution:

Here the real beauty of Slackware Linux shines through. Referrencing the same packages that I used to install Xfce 4.6.0 I turned right around and did a removepkg on 4.6.0 and it was gone. I then went back to the Slackware 12.2 DVD, drilled to the /slackware/xap folder and did a installpkg on the original Xfce tarball. BINGO - startx put my familiar Xfce back on my screen.

Except for one minor detail. I had to run xfce-panel manually the first time to 're-initialize' it. Once done I had everything back to the original state.

Conclusion:

I will make my views regarding Menus and menu editing known to the Xfce community. Perhaps in their copious spare time they can both clean up and sort out the issues. (More to my point perhaps they can follow the FVWM model that allowed users to assign what ever they wanted to which ever button.)

As for Xfce 4.6.0 ... I will take a wait and see approach to 'progress' ... and following Papa's Rule #3 I will hesitate to pickup a tool that doesn't meet the hand.

AdBlock Plus Surprise

Hard to blog when my editing interface doesn't give me my toolbar!!! Seems that a recent update of Adblock Plus (A great Firefox add-on) wasn't allowing the editing toolbar for Blogger.com to be displayed. Actually it was just the editing icons. Hmmmm. I put "http://www2.blogger.com" in My Exception Rules and now everything is blogging away happily.

Saves thinking...

To do things today exactly the way you did them yesterday saves thinking.

- Woodrow Wilson

...like there is a world wide shortage of thinking! Just wouldn't want to waste any thinking. Probably shouldn't practice thinking either.

(P.S. I really wonder how appropriate this quote is coming from an educational administrator.)

Railing against the darkness...

...as if we could change the celestial definition of night.

I know a fellow, a good old boy, who formulates his world perspective using sticks-and-stones metaphors mixed with yard-dog analogies. Literally.

If a person hits me with a stick I am going to hit him with a stone. A big stone. If he hits me with the stick again I am going to go out and get a bigger stone. A much bigger stone. Pretty soon he is going to think twice about hitting me with a stick.

Never mind that factions in the middle east have been having their current conversation for hundreds if not thousands of years. Never mind that fundamentalist believers on both sides fuel their argumentative positions with sticks-and-stones metaphors mixed with yard-dog analogies.

Now iffen my neighbor had a dog and this dog came into my yard to take a crap, well I wouldn't think too highly of my neighbor, iffen you know what I mean. But iffen that dog was to come into my yard and bite one of my kids I'd just plain shoot the dog. An then iffen the neighbor complained I would remind him that he was the one that put up with the dog to begin with. And iffen he still complained I'd just go find me a bigger stone, just to be ready.

I suppose I, and this fellow, are just railing against the darkness. He for applying such down-home-reasonin' to a situation half the world away that is steeped in history and culture far beyond his wildest imagination. I rail against the cost. The cost of politely listening to good ol' boy rants. The cost of perpetuated simplicity and naivete among the good ol' boy movers and shakers.

I suppose the cost would be a bit high to realign the celestial bodies so that night wasn't so dark.

---

Read SWJ Blog

Un-napping - the outing of a sleeper agent.

I have been found out. "You goof!" I believe was the exact expression, offered with the highest regard. None the less, I have been outed.

I am a napper.

A sleeper agent, if you will. As such I may be awake at any hour of the day. I might have been napping but while you were fast asleep I am awake. Ha! All your dream are belong to us!

Truth be told there is absolutely no sense tossing and turning and not sleeping in the middle of the night. So relax. You just finished one nap. Work, read, ponder, muse, amuse, daydream, or just chill. Then somewhere around 3ish (AM of course) it might just be time for another nap. (Hmmmm, 3ish PM could just as well be nap time too.)

(Added Bonus: Insert serious socio-economic observation here: in agrarian based social orders people traditionally followed the daylight rule: work when it is light, sleep when it is dark. In this current cyber-social community where it is always light somewhere on the planet there is no longer that clear night-and-day distinction to be made. I am just as likely to encounter on-line friends and associates at 01:00 as I am at 13:30.)

OMG! Such posturing...

Tara's terrarium was moved to the counter beside the stove when the power went out. There she has stayed without complaint. Warmed by the continuous boiling kettle of water. Nibbling on the occasional errant cricket. Today... today, I get this...
Copyright © 2003 Robyn Judith Waayers

...when I am adding water to her bowl... guess she might be tired of this too.

Almost 12 days to the minute...

... municipal electricity has returned (for the moment) to the Flying Pig Ranch. We rejoice! Thank you Kenergy.

Hi, my name is Papa and I am an electriholic...

... It has been ...er, lemme look at the paper calendar... uh, 12 days... without municipal utility high grade, uncut, pure 'tricity' ... yeah, I am jonesing... this lame portable generator stuff is just a alternating alternative to the real main-line, high tension BUZZ that I have become accustomed to. FLAT! Can hardly carry a sine wave.

Please don't divorce...

NakedJen said it, I read it... let it be so...



"Fidelity": Don't Divorce... from Courage Campaign on Vimeo.

Free Tea... to pilgrims ... giving grace.

Jesus said, "Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me . . . and whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple – truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward." Matthew 10:40 & 42



Free tea is served to Shiite Muslim pilgrims on the road from Baghdad to Karbala, Iraq on February 8, 2009. (Photo: AFP / Getty Images)

Full Circle

Sunday 08 February 2009

by: Dahr Jamail, t r u t h o u t | Perspective

Nothing I dislike more than...

... turning the generator on. All it does is drink fuel and produce too little electricity (Addicted, starting a 12 step, 3 phase, alternating current program - progress notes to follow.)

Only reason really worth while... chilling the peanutbutter cookie dough. Just wish I could follow Grandma Lo's sage advise... fresh peanutbutter cookies and a cold beer. (If memory serves it would have been an Ol' Milwaukee.)

Slackware 12.x and KDE?

Nothing has changed from the days of Slack 8.x and FVWM... I still cannot afford KDE... so now it is Xfce, ahhhh

Microblogging

I have to start getting some of this out of my head... so I will engage in some microblogging until there is room for some more formal substantial thoughts...

Futile State

Great raging torrents of sadness cascade-crash over me. My children have fled. Hearth and home offer no comfort. There is no warm light beckoning. My sanctuary is cold and barren.

In disbelief I sit staring blankly at Cardinals and Sparrows foraging beneath frozen feeders. Spreading seed on the hard snow pack was the only thing I could think to do. Feeding the birds is the only good I could do. Then sit and blindly stare.

Seething raw anger erupts railing against the futile state. Then deflated realizing I cannot will the electricity to return any more than I can will my children to give up the boisterous company of their friends to return to this cold house.

Empty now save the racking sigh-sobs of despair. Tears welling in glassy unfocused eyes overflow, trace cheek to chin then fall away into darkness.