tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62166482011-04-21T12:09:03.984-07:00Mostly commentary on politics, current events, interesting links, etc. And yes, I am a member of the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy. Have my membership card and everything. We get group discounts.Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06310044522633349591noreply@blogger.comBlogger5971100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6216648.post-1124490445341926132005-08-19T15:22:00.000-07:002005-08-19T15:27:25.343-07:00

From KausYou can tell that contemporary legal feminists are now somewhat embarrassed by "comparable worth," because the Roberts stories (in WaPo and the NYT) actually play down its salience. But the feminists should be embarrassed, because even if it's dead (and I'm not sure of that) "comparable worth" shows what can happen--what did happen--when you set up an intellectual conveyor built that

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06310044522633349591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6216648.post-1124490125420821222005-08-19T14:54:00.000-07:002005-08-19T15:22:05.426-07:00

I have now completed Law School orientation. Classes start next Monday, although they actually started one of the classes early. And we already had reading. And an assignment. I have had no time for the past couple of days, partly because they packed the days full with endless seminars and panels on Law School, and partly because I've been dealing with my car. The engine check went on and they

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06310044522633349591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6216648.post-1123992431501412662005-08-13T20:40:00.000-07:002005-08-13T21:07:11.530-07:00

When I arrived in Reykjavik, the weather was cloudy and wet dismal. It improved somewhat over the next four days, but for the most part my memories of Reykjavik are wet and grey. As I walked along the waterfront one damp and cold day, it occurred to me that it reminded me of Seattle.Reykjavik is a clean and tidy little city(although with a surprising amount of graffiti). The buildings are

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06310044522633349591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6216648.post-1123897930773301802005-08-12T18:45:00.000-07:002005-08-12T18:52:10.780-07:00

One of the cool things about iceland is the endless days. When I was there, there was only about one hour of complete darkness in a day. And the sun was at a relatively low angle in the sky(when you could see it for clouds) most of the time, so it always felt like it was morning. You never felt like going to sleep because it was always light and you felt like you should be out doing something.

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06310044522633349591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6216648.post-1123780667309207672005-08-11T09:49:00.000-07:002005-08-11T10:17:47.350-07:00

I will start with the thing which makes the strongest impression on every visitor to Iceland, the prices. I don't think I had an extended conversation with a single other tourist that did not end up with us expressing mutual shock at how incredibly expensive everything is. Slice of pizza? 6 dollars. 9 inch pizza with a couple of toppings? 18 dollars. Four hour bus trip? 75 dollars. Six eggs at

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06310044522633349591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6216648.post-1123448175937778582005-08-07T13:41:00.000-07:002005-08-07T13:56:15.946-07:00

I will write about Iceland, I promise. But first this, from Greg Gutfield- My friends laugh out loud when they read Deepak Chopra's posts. But I find the posts deeply spiritual. Is that normal?It is normal if you're a rich, well-educated but confused individual who finds organized religion too difficult to fit into her schedule and far too demeaning to her ego-driven intellect. While real faith

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06310044522633349591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6216648.post-1123354713373001652005-08-06T11:49:00.000-07:002005-08-06T11:58:33.380-07:00

Well, they called back a little later and said the bag was dropped off at 4:30. I looked outside and it was on the porch. I'm pretty sure I looked out around 5:00 and it wasn't there. And when they dropped it off they didn't even knock on the door, which is kind of strange.In any case, what's with a 5 hour delivery window, anyway? What exactly could make you that uncertain about when you're going

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06310044522633349591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6216648.post-1123288265201435142005-08-05T17:21:00.000-07:002005-08-05T17:31:05.210-07:00

When you make a connection to a domestic flight from an international flight, make sure you have a lot of intervening time, more than an hour anyway.My flight from Iceland was a half-hour late(for no clearly explained reason). I barely got on the connecting flight to Denver, but my bag didn't. So it got some quality time in the Minneapolis airport.Apparently they will deliver the bags right to

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06310044522633349591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6216648.post-1121294876453317762005-07-13T15:47:00.000-07:002005-07-13T15:47:56.460-07:00

Flattop mountains, Colorado 

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06310044522633349591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6216648.post-1121294784752011952005-07-13T15:42:00.000-07:002005-07-13T15:46:24.760-07:00

I'm back again, but just briefly. I leave for Iceland tomorrow.In the meantime, here are pictures from my recent trip in Colorado and Utah.

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06310044522633349591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6216648.post-1120407861077624272005-07-03T09:23:00.000-07:002005-07-03T09:24:21.083-07:00

Ok, I'm leaving for a couple of weeks. You kids be good.

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06310044522633349591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6216648.post-1120330941589361212005-07-02T12:02:00.000-07:002005-07-02T12:02:21.680-07:00

Clouds 

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06310044522633349591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6216648.post-1120263884155834242005-07-01T17:24:00.000-07:002005-07-01T17:24:44.226-07:00

Cat Blogging, Happy Birthday Monkey. 

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06310044522633349591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6216648.post-1120156076990353722005-06-30T10:35:00.000-07:002005-06-30T11:27:57.060-07:00

This has been bandied around a lot already, but I feel the need to bring it up againThose who do not think this split is real should consult the responses to pollster Scott Rasmussen's question last year. About two-thirds of Americans agreed that the United States is a fair and decent country. Virtually all Bush voters agreed. Kerry voters were split down the middle.Half. Half of Kerry voters.

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06310044522633349591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6216648.post-1120013625370120082005-06-28T19:53:00.000-07:002005-06-28T19:54:32.450-07:00

My car is somewhere down in the flats. I drove 3 hours to get out here, and then hiked up for Bushnell Peak. I was worried about clouds closing in, but decided they weren't a lightning threat. I was right. They dropped the smallest spray of rain on me, but I didn't hear a single peal of thunder all day. This is a sunny spell near the top, before the clouds you see there arrived. They looked a

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06310044522633349591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6216648.post-1120013308103120492005-06-28T19:48:00.000-07:002005-06-28T19:48:28.166-07:00

A run-in with an unfriendly dead branch. 

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06310044522633349591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6216648.post-1119926714635812922005-06-27T18:51:00.000-07:002005-06-27T19:45:14.673-07:00

After I lost my copy of Proust's In Search of Lost Time in Zagreb, I began to read Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre.Just fresh from reading Proust, Jane Eyre seemed like the best book ever. Actual interesting and sympathetic characters who had an actual story to tell. After a bit the effect wore off and I began to see Jane Eyre as a good, but not a great, book.It tells the story of a poor orphan girl

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06310044522633349591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6216648.post-1119722475286011402005-06-25T10:51:00.000-07:002005-06-25T11:01:15.306-07:00

Anyone who is familiar with Spurlock's previous work(If you eat 5000 calories a day and don't exercise, you get fat! it must be McDonald's fault!) will not be surprised at this-While Mr. Spurlock is often referred to as a journalist, and touts "30 Days" as a "documentary," the outcome of the show was decided before production began. ....I asked the show's executive producers--all of whom worked

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06310044522633349591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6216648.post-1119552654831193822005-06-23T11:33:00.000-07:002005-06-23T11:50:54.856-07:00

This is very good-Gitmo is the gulag equivalent of a Ben Affleck movie: no one's seen it, but everyone has an opinion about it. Given all the rhetoric that's been spilled about this sorta-kinda-not-really Death Camp, it's time we re-examine the facts, and remind ourselves what's really at stake. Herewith a summation.Q: What is Gitmo?A: Contrary to what some suggest, it does not stand for "Git mo'

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06310044522633349591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6216648.post-1119466707760392012005-06-22T11:57:00.000-07:002005-06-22T11:58:27.766-07:00

This is quite funny.The 25-foot-tall, 17 1/2-ton treat of frozen Snapple juice melted faster than expected Tuesday, flooding Union Square in downtown Manhattan with kiwi-strawberry-flavored fluid that sent pedestrians scurrying for higher ground.

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06310044522633349591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6216648.post-1119381369758986562005-06-21T12:02:00.000-07:002005-06-21T12:16:09.766-07:00

I just saw the new Batman movie. It's good.Dark, serious, completely unlike the previous Batman movies. The action scenes are a little choppy and confusing, but that is clearly not the focus of the movie, and I consider that a good thing. Characterization is mostly excellent,if shallow and implausible in places, but I think that's unavoidable in a movie about a comic book. Villains do things that

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06310044522633349591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6216648.post-1119205564015093272005-06-19T10:35:00.000-07:002005-06-19T11:40:34.073-07:00

Over my trip I read two books, or to be more accurate, one and a half books. The first(half) was Marcel Proust's In Search of Lost Time, Vol 1:Swann's Way.In Search of Lost Time is essentially Proust's efforts to recreate and evoke his own life by describing it in meticulous detail. This is not meant to be taken literally, however, because as I understand it, the book is only

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06310044522633349591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6216648.post-1119023279340643722005-06-17T08:40:00.000-07:002005-06-17T08:47:59.350-07:00

Somebody asked about Frank Herbert, but he's really a 1970s writer. My colleague Becky Jacobs claims that the most recent books in the Dune franchise are actually good, but he lost me with Refrigerator Repairmen of Dune or somesuch, many years ago.-Instapundit

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06310044522633349591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6216648.post-1118946122755228622005-06-16T11:02:00.000-07:002005-06-16T11:22:02.763-07:00

Kaus has some for Dean-Suggestion for Dean: Print your criticisms IN ALL CAPS. That will reassure those big Democratic donors THAT YOU MEAN BUSINESS!And Virginia Governor Mark Warner has some advice for the Democratic partyWarner said he experienced that sentiment personally during a trip to California, where he felt some people were condescending to him because he came from Virginia."You little

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06310044522633349591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6216648.post-1118944697732170602005-06-16T10:35:00.000-07:002005-06-16T10:58:17.740-07:00

Ok, so, to wrap up my trip...The weather in Innsbruck never did get better, I waited around for 4 days and the clouds wouldn't go away. As a matter of fact, it snowed on me. Twice. Austria had a record of pretty much unmitigated crappy weather while I was there.We did discern that the Burger King is the most happening place in Innsbruck late on a Wednesday night. This is why I spent Thursday

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06310044522633349591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6216648.post-1118943303524467242005-06-16T10:34:00.000-07:002005-06-16T10:35:03.533-07:00

Two of them. At the door, about half an hour ago. I think that's the first time that's happened to me.

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06310044522633349591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6216648.post-1118888552097531062005-06-15T19:17:00.000-07:002005-06-15T19:22:32.103-07:00

Ok, pictures all done. You can find them all here. The condensed reader's digest version is here.

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06310044522633349591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6216648.post-1118810697474860292005-06-14T21:39:00.000-07:002005-06-14T21:44:57.480-07:00

I'm home, I'm tired, and I'm busy.In the six weeks I've been gone, my lawn turned into a knee-high thicket. So in addition to the dozens of other things to deal with, I've had to mow that.Maybe I'll get around to talking about the rest of my trip later.Until then, here are all the pictures for Croatia.

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06310044522633349591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6216648.post-1118133158448842272005-06-07T01:20:00.000-07:002005-06-07T01:33:15.753-07:00

Well, I went into the mountains of Slovenia, which were very nice.Unfortunately, the weather was not. Lots of clouds, not much sun. It could have been worse, it only rained on the first day. Also, most of the huts were closed, so I could not stay long in the mountains. It was remarkably difficult to get authoritative information on the huts and conditions in the Triglav National Park. There was

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06310044522633349591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6216648.post-1117471203245507952005-05-30T09:35:00.000-07:002005-05-30T09:40:03.246-07:00

I have moved from Ljubljana to Lake Bled, a very cute, if touristy, spot. I have to say in general about Slovenia that it is just an adorable little country. Very nice scenery, everything is neat and bright and charming. It's very hard to believe that this was once a communist country. It seems much more like some little bourgeois prosperous middle European country. One thing it does have is an

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06310044522633349591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6216648.post-1117470948562721042005-05-30T09:29:00.000-07:002005-05-30T09:35:48.563-07:00

1) WaterAt restaurants, if you ask for water, you get a tiny little bottle of water and get charged like a doller for it. You can't have water for free. This has been pretty much everywhere I've been so far. It may be all of Europe. Which is really annonying since the tap water here is fine.(It better be, I've been drinking it the whole time.) I've taken to drinking a lot from my water bottle

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06310044522633349591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6216648.post-1117470568419168622005-05-30T09:12:00.000-07:002005-05-30T09:29:28.426-07:00

Since I last wrote.... I went from Zagreb to Plitvice lakes, which is quite nice. Lots of green lakes and waterfalls. Lots and lots of them. Gets a little repetitive actually. But if you like green lakes and waterfalls, it's a great place to go. Also, if you like fat German tourists, a great place to go. Lots of them to.From there I went to Zadar, my first sighting of the Adriatic. A nice,

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06310044522633349591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6216648.post-1117392730920673522005-05-29T11:50:00.000-07:002005-05-29T11:52:10.926-07:00

Well, I just wrote a very long and involved post about my travels so far. And F**king blogger ate it.So just imagine you see that here.Maybe I'll write it later.

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06310044522633349591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6216648.post-1116867915216750412005-05-23T09:52:00.000-07:002005-05-23T10:05:15.233-07:00

Zagreb is both more expensive and more westernized and English speaking than Hungary and the Czech and Slovak republics. That being said, I think the clerk at the bus station tried to rip me off. The cost for the ticket was 59k, and I gave her a 200k note. She gave me back 41k. I thought for a second, then complained that I had given her a 200k note. She looked at the money and than made like she

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06310044522633349591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6216648.post-1116774273573983172005-05-22T07:59:00.000-07:002005-05-22T08:04:33.580-07:00

Had to get up at 6 to make the 7am train. The trains always seem to be leaving at 7 or 8, and the next one will be at like 1. They never seem to leave at a reasonable hour, like 9 or 10. And the Hungarians just smoke on the train, they don't much seem to care about the no-smoking signs.Just got to Zagreb, Croatia. Already I have noticed that it seems more expensive, I've moved into the high-rent

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06310044522633349591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6216648.post-1116700815345777512005-05-21T11:34:00.000-07:002005-05-21T11:40:15.350-07:00

Pecs(pronounced PayCH), Hungary is a very pleasant little city. Lots of churches, including one which was converted from a mosque. Very touristy, but very few, if any, of the people are American, or even English. The owner of my room keeps trying to speak to me in German, I'm not sure she understands that is a different language from English. It's all non-Hungarian to her.Still, in sleepy little

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06310044522633349591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6216648.post-1116607572257169912005-05-20T09:44:00.000-07:002005-05-20T09:46:12.263-07:00

From the rough guide, p.50However, a new phenomenon has hit the streets of Budapest in recent years, that of the "consume girls", who target solo male foreigners. A couple of attractive young ladies (they're very easy to spot) will approach you, typically along Vaci utca, get talking and, without wasting any time, "invite you" for a drink in a bar of their choice. A few drinks later you'll find

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06310044522633349591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6216648.post-1116343586705730532005-05-17T08:22:00.000-07:002005-05-17T08:26:26.710-07:00

I went up into the Tatras and spent a night up at the Teryho Chata. It was beautiful, but the higher passes are all closed because of snow. There was a lot of snow just getting up there. I was woken up by thunder, and the place was socked in by clouds. It cleared up some over the day, but rain is forecast for the next four days. I'm not hanging around waiting for it to change, so I'm going on to

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06310044522633349591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6216648.post-1116232668153946512005-05-16T01:26:00.000-07:002005-05-16T01:42:00.646-07:00

Well, I went to Bratislava from Prague. Turns out they have card readers here. They´re integrated into the computers. although the people working at the internet cafe seemed unaware of their existence, they work just fine.It´s quite a bit smaller and sleepier. There´s a touristy town center that´s pretty charming, but it´s clear that most of the town is drabber and ... more communist I guess I

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06310044522633349591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6216648.post-1115927892048930672005-05-12T12:42:00.000-07:002005-05-12T12:58:12.366-07:00

So, apparently, there are no flash card readers in the Czech Republic. Not in the internet cafes, anyway. I tried three different ones and they all acted like it was some extraordinary request. The Czech republic is the wealthiest and most western of the eastern european countries, so I wouldn't be surprised if this is also the case in Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, and Slovenia. So no more pictures

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06310044522633349591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6216648.post-1115889821029564912005-05-12T01:50:00.000-07:002005-05-12T02:23:41.263-07:00

Ok, been a while. I've been very busy.Last notes on Austria- The subway in Vienna is very good and easy to use, although it shuts down around 12:30 at night, which can be a pain if you miss it and have to walk. The countryside around Vienna is very nice. As I left by train we went through rolling forested hills dotted with adorable houses. Pretty much all of the houses and buildings in Austria

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06310044522633349591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6216648.post-1115540655770121512005-05-08T01:22:00.000-07:002005-05-08T01:24:15.776-07:00

Ok, Viennas up.Using these German language keyboards is a real pain.

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06310044522633349591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6216648.post-1115488311750528352005-05-07T10:41:00.000-07:002005-05-07T10:51:52.040-07:00

Yes, I'm here. After a long, but not too unpleasant flight(and surprisingly uneventful, considering what went on before the flight), I arrived in Vienna, wondered around for about an hour before I found my hostel, and then went to sleep.On the flight from London to Vienna, the clouds parted enough for me to European countryside from 30000 feet up, the first time I have seen it. As a result of

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06310044522633349591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6216648.post-1115176690564582292005-05-03T20:14:00.000-07:002005-05-03T20:23:33.580-07:00

I just want everybody to know that I just got a score of 959 and 100% correct on the level 9 game here. I was helped by a lucky order of countries(the countries on the ocean are easier to place, and once you have them in the map, the other countries become easier) and some practice(I've done this about a dozen times in the last week). Still, try and beat it.(and, it should go without saying that

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06310044522633349591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6216648.post-1115062748880452922005-05-02T12:34:00.000-07:002005-05-02T12:39:08.883-07:00

This is funny-Pile On®: All right, looks like we have to take a commercial break. We'll be right back.Commercial: Are you frustrated with your blogging software? Do you find yourself...John: Yeah, I am.Commercial: Excuse me, but I wasn't talking to you.John: Sorry, you asked a question, so I answered it.Commercial: I wasn't asking you a question, this is a commercial.John: Well, you should make

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06310044522633349591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6216648.post-1114811367076036092005-04-29T14:34:00.000-07:002005-04-29T14:49:27.076-07:00

Ok, so, it's out. The reviews are actually pretty positive. But I don't find them at all convincing. Why? Well, in this mostly positive review we get the following concessionBut if the director, music-video whiz Garth Jennings, can knock you silly with a visual punch line, he can't get the timing of a verbal one. He doesn't trust the long take; he chops up scenes and loses the extra, awkward beat

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06310044522633349591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6216648.post-1114809653481341102005-04-29T14:20:00.000-07:002005-04-29T14:20:53.480-07:00

Well, as you can see, it's winter around here again. It's been snowing for a couple of days now, and it's been snowing on and off all day today. Mostly wet stuff and it tends not to stick, but there's still snow on my lawn. 

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06310044522633349591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6216648.post-1114809565507520732005-04-29T14:19:00.000-07:002005-04-29T14:19:25.506-07:00

Spring Flowers... with snow. 

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06310044522633349591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6216648.post-1114725421620442542005-04-28T14:56:00.000-07:002005-04-28T14:57:01.620-07:00

Guess a Google (via ACE)

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06310044522633349591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6216648.post-1114715960888209522005-04-28T12:18:00.000-07:002005-04-28T12:19:20.890-07:00

This is pretty cool.

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06310044522633349591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6216648.post-1114711608624433542005-04-28T10:36:00.000-07:002005-04-28T11:06:48.626-07:00

From the AP-Buffeted by rising energy prices and weakened consumer and business spending, the economy grew at an annual rate of just 3.1 percent in the first quarter. The slowest pace of expansion since in two years was evidence of a new "soft patch."Ok, so it's the slowest rate in 2 years, which I suppose is worth reporting on. But the fact is, 3.1 percent growth is just dandy. Rates of higher

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06310044522633349591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6216648.post-1114639030165361212005-04-27T14:54:00.000-07:002005-04-27T14:57:10.166-07:00

More good Geography quizes. Here and here. (Via the corner)

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06310044522633349591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6216648.post-1114636444842489042005-04-27T14:10:00.000-07:002005-04-27T14:14:04.843-07:00

This is so misguided.The House on Wednesday approved a new gold-colored coin bearing the faces of presidents to join the unpopular $1 Sacagawea coin in circulation, hoping a new design will spur use of dollar coins.The reason why people don't use the $1 coins has nothing to do with the picture on it. It has to do with their shape and size. The fact is that $1 bills are much easier to carry and

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06310044522633349591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6216648.post-1114636159664021542005-04-27T14:07:00.000-07:002005-04-27T14:09:19.666-07:00

Ok, so it looks like HHGG is a bust. But this movie actually looks quite good.It's apparently based on the show Firefly, which I've never seen, but heard good things about.

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06310044522633349591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6216648.post-1114624532368137772005-04-27T10:48:00.000-07:002005-04-27T10:55:32.370-07:00

Don't assume, like I did, that the people behind the counter at FedEx actually know what they're talking about. Because it turns out, they don't.You would think when you say you want something there "as fast as possible" and you use the phrase repeatedly, you would actually get the fastest possible option, not the second-fastest. When they tell you you want FedEx Priority Overnight, they're lying

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06310044522633349591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6216648.post-1114553170591453232005-04-26T14:54:00.000-07:002005-04-26T15:06:10.593-07:00

Via Ace, We get this review of the new Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Movie.(Many spoilers)It very convincingly argues what I had come to suspect based solely on the previews and the clips made available. It sucks. Really, really, bad. I noticed that none of the clips, or previews had anything that could be described as... what's the word?.. oh yeah, funny. Which, seeing as how this is supposed

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06310044522633349591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6216648.post-1114552449024005802005-04-26T14:51:00.000-07:002005-04-26T14:54:09.023-07:00

When you're going to go on a trip, make sure you have your passport. Well, in advance, a good month, if not more, beforehand. Because I didn't check until a few days ago, and that's going to cost me $355.04. To put a precise dollar figure on it. *$#*%&*#.

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06310044522633349591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6216648.post-1114211757729436272005-04-22T16:15:00.000-07:002005-04-22T16:15:57.730-07:00

Friday cat 

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06310044522633349591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6216648.post-1114197713232900572005-04-22T12:01:00.000-07:002005-04-22T12:28:31.230-07:00

I have been inclined to think for some time that the "environmental movement" is much more concerned with the "movement" part than they are with the "environmental" part.This piece in Slate, an environmental movement analysis by a typical corporate-style environmentalist, doesn't do much to disabuse me of the notion. Lots of tactical advice on how to sell their agenda, bemoaning the influence of

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06310044522633349591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6216648.post-1114195450259177062005-04-22T11:34:00.000-07:002005-04-22T11:44:10.260-07:00

Ace on the things he doesn't like-On the other hand there's baseball, a game invented primarily to give uninteresting men something to talk about with other uninteresting men and thus perhaps avoid those awkward pauses during which homosexual coupling becomes a dangerously real possibility. Were it not for interminable discussions about slugging averages and on-base percentages, upwards of half

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06310044522633349591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6216648.post-1114132571089824412005-04-21T18:01:00.000-07:002005-04-21T18:16:11.090-07:00

The new Hitchhiker's guide to the Galaxy movie is coming out, and I have to say I'm uneasy about it. The clips that are available just don't seem that... funny. The falling whale sequence, for example, which is pretty much taken intact from the original radio show, doesn't seem right. It's too rushed, the comic timing is off. I don't really have enough material to judge from, but, like I said,

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06310044522633349591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6216648.post-1114055438706122272005-04-20T20:47:00.000-07:002005-04-20T20:50:38.706-07:00

While reading a comment thread inspired by Eugene Volokh's post on language(a subject he often writes on), I came across this comment-I've never understood the phrase "meteoric rise." To me, meteors fall, crash, and burn.She's absolutely right. And I've never seen this pointed out before. Meteors don't rise. They fall. So where does the phrase "meteoric rise" come from?

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06310044522633349591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6216648.post-1114035132508335932005-04-20T15:06:00.000-07:002005-04-20T15:12:12.506-07:00

Roger Simon directs me to this article on "the Hollywood Ten". These were the ten communists at the center of HUAC hearings in 1947. According to the contemporary conventional wisdom dispensed by Hollywood and others, they were brave dissenters martyered by anti-communist extremists. The truth is they were pretty much unrepentant Stalinists who blindly followed orders from Moscow.

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06310044522633349591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6216648.post-1114034257414130142005-04-20T14:52:00.000-07:002005-04-20T14:57:37.416-07:00

From ACE-But it is rather revealing that our "diverse" media cannot view a centuries old spiritual institution, concerned primarily with, you know, salvation and God and Jesus and all that stuff, through any other prism but the nakedly political. The Church exists, in their minds, only to either thwart or advance their domestic material-world agendas. It is just an NGO like Amnesty International,

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06310044522633349591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6216648.post-1113940249077904242005-04-19T12:49:00.000-07:002005-04-19T12:50:49.076-07:00

Interesting remark in this comment thread(although not really on-topic)I think there may be substance to it, and it's a mistake to misunderestimate the personal loathing the elitist left feels for a guy like Bush, who is so clearly a traitor to his class. Come on, he went to Andover, to Yale and Harvard, and instead of using the big words that he must have surely absorbed (even a dolt like AlGore

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06310044522633349591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6216648.post-1113939156919761082005-04-19T12:11:00.000-07:002005-04-19T12:32:36.920-07:00

I am not a Catholic, and so have little opinion on this, but one thing did jump out at me that I haven't seen others comment on yet-Now, at 78, he has become the 265th pope of the Catholic Church and the first Germanic pope since monarchs imposed four men from that region in a row in the 11th century.78. 78 years old. The normal retirement age in most professions is what, 65? Seems to me he's not

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06310044522633349591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6216648.post-1113856881834138932005-04-18T13:41:00.000-07:002005-04-18T13:41:21.833-07:00

Aspen Bud 

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06310044522633349591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6216648.post-1113681807927730352005-04-16T13:03:00.000-07:002005-04-16T13:03:27.926-07:00

Spring Flowers 

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06310044522633349591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6216648.post-1113621347790268152005-04-15T20:14:00.000-07:002005-04-15T20:15:47.793-07:00

This is quite funny-A bunch of computer-generated gibberish masquerading as an academic paper has been accepted at a scientific conference in a victory for pranksters at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Jeremy Stribling said on Thursday that he and two fellow MIT graduate students questioned the standards of some academic conferences, so they wrote a computer program to generate

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06310044522633349591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6216648.post-1113601753560319692005-04-15T14:49:00.000-07:002005-04-15T14:49:13.560-07:00

Near Moab, UT 

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06310044522633349591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6216648.post-1113601733440687092005-04-15T14:48:00.000-07:002005-04-15T14:48:53.440-07:00

Near Moab, UT 

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06310044522633349591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6216648.post-1113520860712415732005-04-14T16:21:00.000-07:002005-04-14T16:21:00.713-07:00

Near Moab, UT 

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06310044522633349591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6216648.post-1113520831052443852005-04-14T16:20:00.000-07:002005-04-14T16:20:31.053-07:00

La Sal Mountains 

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06310044522633349591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6216648.post-1113520776999539632005-04-14T16:19:00.000-07:002005-04-14T16:19:37.000-07:00

La Sal Mountains 

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06310044522633349591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6216648.post-1113446289809127912005-04-13T19:37:00.000-07:002005-04-13T19:38:09.810-07:00

Frank J's Top Ten UN slogans.

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06310044522633349591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6216648.post-1113445348858983002005-04-13T19:18:00.000-07:002005-04-13T19:22:28.860-07:00

On the "Airline Peanut Joke" -A few bons mots from the Jones manifesto: "But how is ‘terrorism’ going to surrender? It’s well known, in philological circles, that it’s very hard for abstract nouns to do anything at all of their own volition." Oh, how droll! We at the Spectator call this the “airline peanut joke” (or, alternately, the “men pee on the toilet seat” joke)—you can probably figure out

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06310044522633349591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6216648.post-1113429977970779242005-04-13T15:06:00.000-07:002005-04-13T15:06:17.970-07:00

Gas station puppy 

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06310044522633349591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6216648.post-1113429399001251702005-04-13T14:56:00.000-07:002005-04-13T14:56:39.000-07:00

View from Hualapai peak 

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06310044522633349591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6216648.post-1113429335161095462005-04-13T14:55:00.000-07:002005-04-13T14:55:35.160-07:00

Hualapai State Park 

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06310044522633349591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6216648.post-1113429229730489062005-04-13T14:53:00.000-07:002005-04-13T14:53:49.730-07:00

Mandalay Bay: The office nook 

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06310044522633349591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6216648.post-1113429159934818572005-04-13T14:52:00.000-07:002005-04-13T15:19:13.576-07:00

Mandalay Bay: the bedroom. The bathroom is off to the left. I didn't get a picture of it, but you'll just have to trust me when I tell you it was ridiculous. 

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06310044522633349591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6216648.post-1113429006669875682005-04-13T14:50:00.000-07:002005-04-13T14:50:06.670-07:00

Mandalay Bay: This is the main room only. And there's no mirror there making the room look longer. 

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06310044522633349591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6216648.post-1113428165172325652005-04-13T14:28:00.000-07:002005-04-13T15:19:37.603-07:00

Well, I'm back from Las Vegas. I lost $100 on craps in half an hour when I abruptly remembered why gambling is so stupid. I was there to celebrate my friend's 30th birthday. He rented a suite on the top floor of the Mandalay Bay in which you could land a small airplane(pictures to follow). We went to very expensive restaurants and hip nightclubs, and it will probably be years before I go to Las

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06310044522633349591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6216648.post-1112802711900061932005-04-06T08:51:00.000-07:002005-04-06T08:51:51.900-07:00

I'm gone for a week. I leave you with this cat picture. 

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06310044522633349591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6216648.post-1112740824268829072005-04-05T15:36:00.000-07:002005-04-05T15:40:24.270-07:00

'There, there, you worried irrational people. My pollster's told me about you. We're on your side, however illogical your pathetic little fears!' ... From vilification to condescension. This is progress in the Democratic Party.-KausfilesAs National Review said once, "Please nominate this man". I think Dean is, in fact, representative of a substantial portion of the Democratic party base. They

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06310044522633349591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6216648.post-1112646104284299942005-04-04T13:18:00.000-07:002005-04-04T13:21:44.286-07:00

John J Miller on why Daylight Saving Time sucks. I have never liked daylight saving time. It's like changing to counting your money in mexican pesos so that you seem richer. But guess what? You have the same amount of money either way, and similarly, you have the same amount of daylight either way. Want to get up an hour earlier? than just do it. There's no need to give the rest of country jetlag

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06310044522633349591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6216648.post-1112564221094046152005-04-03T14:31:00.000-07:002005-04-03T14:37:01.096-07:00

I was having a discussion with someone the other night who insisted that the Republicans were being hypocrites for not applying the independent counsel to Rep. DeLay, or whoever. I said the Independent counsel law has expired and as such is no longer applicable. He denied this. Guess what.This chapter shall cease to be effective five years after the date of the enactment of the Independent

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06310044522633349591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6216648.post-1112562972438790482005-04-03T14:16:00.000-07:002005-04-03T14:16:12.436-07:00

Spring Flowers 

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06310044522633349591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6216648.post-1112475647316149242005-04-02T13:00:00.000-08:002005-04-02T14:29:17.126-08:00

Flowers 

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06310044522633349591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6216648.post-1112473409075758982005-04-02T12:22:00.000-08:002005-04-02T12:23:29.076-08:00

Bet that's a word you never thought you'd hear. Check out the Old Negro Space Program.

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06310044522633349591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6216648.post-1112394695948394952005-04-01T14:31:00.000-08:002005-04-01T14:31:35.946-08:00

Friday cat 

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06310044522633349591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6216648.post-1112370031574709492005-04-01T07:39:00.000-08:002005-04-01T07:40:31.576-08:00

Funny story. (via Ace)

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06310044522633349591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6216648.post-1112325975103746142005-03-31T19:26:00.000-08:002005-03-31T19:26:15.103-08:00

By the parking lot at Beaver Creek 

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06310044522633349591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6216648.post-1112325911248339742005-03-31T19:25:00.000-08:002005-03-31T19:25:11.246-08:00

Near Copper Mountain 

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06310044522633349591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6216648.post-1112217620203198242005-03-30T13:19:00.000-08:002005-03-30T13:20:46.330-08:00

Cleaned the kitchen floor.Man, that sucked, now I see why only do it every six months.

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06310044522633349591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6216648.post-1112125539887582522005-03-29T11:43:00.000-08:002005-03-29T11:45:40.016-08:00

Well, it's snowing sideways right now. Isn't that nice?Also, can anybody explain why, when I bring up the Yahoo home page, I have to look at Paris Hilton's ugly inbred face? Isn't her 15 minutes about up?

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06310044522633349591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6216648.post-1112051954036646562005-03-28T15:16:00.000-08:002005-03-28T15:19:14.040-08:00

David Berstein on Amtrak...Hold on! Amtrak? You mean the Amtrak that is largely used by wealthy business travelers (with poor people using Greyhound?) The Amtrak that wastes billions of dollars running nearly empty trains to the districts of influential congressmen? The Amtrak that spent untold millions purchasing new high-speed trains, but never got around to upgrading the tracks to accommodate

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06310044522633349591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6216648.post-1111862909306336382005-03-26T10:48:00.000-08:002005-03-26T10:48:29.306-08:00

Flowers 

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06310044522633349591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6216648.post-1111795669176664452005-03-25T16:07:00.000-08:002005-03-25T16:07:49.176-08:00

Friday Cat 

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06310044522633349591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6216648.post-1111789304477293962005-03-25T14:04:00.000-08:002005-03-25T14:24:35.646-08:00

I recently finished reading The Hunchback of Notre-Dame. I cannot say I recommend it very much. None of the characters are very likable, or presents very compelling character development. The plot tends to lurch along, frequently grinding to a halt for very long descriptive sections, and it isn't ultimately very interesting or plausible.The book is not without out good points, however. It gives a

Billhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06310044522633349591noreply@blogger.com