Found at some wingnut/libertarian dating site. Have at him, ladies.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Hubba hubba
The Poor Man has been using these a lot lately. It's kinda frightening. Funny, but frightening.
Found at some wingnut/libertarian dating site. Have at him, ladies.
Found at some wingnut/libertarian dating site. Have at him, ladies.
More on the economy
A nice history lesson.
Why the bailout is about politics more than money.
John Cole puts it in the "what if it were the other party" perspective.
How Wall Street is gaming Congress to get what they want.
Shouldn't that be "Staggering 30% Approve of Bush?"
Why the bailout is about politics more than money.
John Cole puts it in the "what if it were the other party" perspective.
How Wall Street is gaming Congress to get what they want.
Shouldn't that be "Staggering 30% Approve of Bush?"
Well, consider that it's PowerLine you're dealing with...
In which Krugman gets to say "I Told You So."
AAAAARGH
As many as 23 million people could have negative equity in their homes, depending on how low the bottom goes.
This is going to end well.
This is going to end well.
Monday, September 29, 2008
Just want I want to read with my house on the market
But yeah, this is just one of the things I've been wondering about.
Not everyone gets a deal like my friend KC. The company that lured him from CT to NY bought his house after it sat on the market for 4 months.
Not everyone gets a deal like my friend KC. The company that lured him from CT to NY bought his house after it sat on the market for 4 months.
What was that about heat and gasoline?
Jets fans are smart.
This is what happens when you park over hot coals.
This is what happens when you park over hot coals.
That's a big boat
The first of the 5 Solstice-class cruise ships is ready. And it's FREAKIN' HUGE, according to Billy Connolly.
Holy wow. The post at Gizmodo has some funny comments, my favorite being "How much norovirus did you say this thing could hold?"
I, personally, am not a cruise person. I don't like not having control of my itinerary. Instead of seeing 7 islands in 7 days, I'd rather just pick one of them, and hang for a week. But if this is your thing, it's got to be pretty cool.
Hell, if they had an 2-day-1-night stay in port, I'd probably do it just to explore the thing. I do love me some big gadgets. Infrastructure, baby.
Holy wow. The post at Gizmodo has some funny comments, my favorite being "How much norovirus did you say this thing could hold?"
I, personally, am not a cruise person. I don't like not having control of my itinerary. Instead of seeing 7 islands in 7 days, I'd rather just pick one of them, and hang for a week. But if this is your thing, it's got to be pretty cool.
Hell, if they had an 2-day-1-night stay in port, I'd probably do it just to explore the thing. I do love me some big gadgets. Infrastructure, baby.
Sunday, September 28, 2008
The state of our economy - a timeline
1997: Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan's famous "irrational exuberance" speech in 1996 was somehow ignored by, um, Fed Chairman Greenspan. The Fed missed the opportunity to change margin requirements. Had the Fed acted, the bubble would not have inflated as much, and the subsequent crash would not have been as severe.
1998: Long Term Capital Management was undercapitalized, used enormous amounts of leverage to purchase all manner of thinly traded, hard-to-value paper. It failed, and under the authority of the Federal Reserve a "private-sector" rescue plan was cobbled together. Had these bankers suffered big losses from LTCM, they might have thought twice before jumping into the exact same business model of undercapitalized, overleveraged, thinly traded, hard-to-value paper. Instead, they reaffirmed Benjamin Disraeli's famous aphorism: "What we learn from history is that we do not learn from history."
1999: The Financial Services Modernization Act repealed Glass-Steagall, a law that had separated the commercial-banking industry from Wall Street, and the two industries, plus insurance, came together again. Banks became bigger, clumsier, and hard to manage. Apparently, risk-management became all but impossible, even as banks had greater access to larger pools of capital.
2000: The Commodities Futures Modernization Act defined financial commodities such as "interest rates, currency prices, and stock indexes" as "excluded commodities." They could trade off the futures exchanges, with minimal oversight by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission, nor the Federal Reserve, nor any state insurance regulators had the ability to supervise or regulate the writing of credit-default swaps by hedge funds, investment banks or insurance companies.
2001-'03: Alan Greenspan's Fed dropped federal-fund rates to 1%. Lulled into a false belief that inflation was not a problem, the Fed then kept rates at 1% for more than a year. This set off an inflationary spiral in housing, and a desperate hunt for yield by fixed-income managers.
2003-'07: The Federal Reserve failed to use its supervisory and regulatory authority over banks, mortgage underwriters and other lenders, who abandoned such standards as employment history, income, down payments, credit rating, assets, property loan-to-value ratio and debt-servicing ability. The borrower's ability to repay these mortgages was replaced with the lender's ability to securitize and repackage them.
2004: The SEC waived its leverage rules. Previously, broker/dealer net-capital rules limited firms to a maximum debt-to-net-capital ratio of 12 to 1. This 2004 exemption allowed them to exceed this leverage rule. Only five firms -- Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch, Lehman Brothers, Bear Stearns and Morgan Stanley -- were granted this exemption; they promptly levered up 20, 30 and even 40 to 1.
2005-'07: Unscrupulous home appraisers found that they could attract more business by inflating appraisals. Intrinsic value was ignored, so referrals kept coming in. This helped borrowers obtain financing at prices that were increasingly unsupportable. When honest appraisers petitioned both Congress and the bureaucracy to intervene in the widespread fraud, neither branch of government acted.
Christmas gift ideas
The Abu Ghraib bobblehead! The Dick Cheney Shredding Snowball! And more!
Find them at America: The Gift Shop.
SNL recap Weeks 2 and 3
Forgot to do this last week.
SNL Week 2
Opening skit, McCain "approving" all his bullshit commercials, was pretty funny. Everything else was horrible, with the exception of Kings of Leon. OK, the Digital Short was passable, where he had the small weenie or something. James Franco has no charisma, and from what I can tell, no actual ability. Of course he was decent as the hateable douchebag in the Spiderman movies. He is a hateable douchebag! That solves that mystery.
SNL Week 3
The opening was fantastic. Tina Fey is out of her fucking mind as Sarah Palin. Everything else was terrible, except one that was a "meh." The one in the boat, where he's supposed to kill her; that one had a couple giggles. What the hell is going on here? This is the result of 5.5 straight days of work by a huge team of "comedy" writers and performers? Anna Faris is, um WHO? The whole episode, all Erica and I could think of was how much she looks like Britney Spears post-hottie but pre-total-meltdown. Then, about 10 minutes before the whole thing was over, Erica recognized her as the ditz in a couple scenes from Lost in Translation. So we had that going for us, which was nice.
And don't get me started on Duffy. What the fuck is that trainwreck?!?! No rhythm, no talent, no voice, shit songs. Love those tits-based record contracts. Awesome job, SNL. Just awesome.
SNL Week 2
Opening skit, McCain "approving" all his bullshit commercials, was pretty funny. Everything else was horrible, with the exception of Kings of Leon. OK, the Digital Short was passable, where he had the small weenie or something. James Franco has no charisma, and from what I can tell, no actual ability. Of course he was decent as the hateable douchebag in the Spiderman movies. He is a hateable douchebag! That solves that mystery.
SNL Week 3
The opening was fantastic. Tina Fey is out of her fucking mind as Sarah Palin. Everything else was terrible, except one that was a "meh." The one in the boat, where he's supposed to kill her; that one had a couple giggles. What the hell is going on here? This is the result of 5.5 straight days of work by a huge team of "comedy" writers and performers? Anna Faris is, um WHO? The whole episode, all Erica and I could think of was how much she looks like Britney Spears post-hottie but pre-total-meltdown. Then, about 10 minutes before the whole thing was over, Erica recognized her as the ditz in a couple scenes from Lost in Translation. So we had that going for us, which was nice.
And don't get me started on Duffy. What the fuck is that trainwreck?!?! No rhythm, no talent, no voice, shit songs. Love those tits-based record contracts. Awesome job, SNL. Just awesome.
Saturday, September 27, 2008
RIP
An all-time great everything. Actor, man, humanitarian.
Must go get Nobody's Fool and watch it soon.
Friday, September 26, 2008
Cry me a river...
Poor, poor i-bankers...
Some excerpts:
Wheeeeee!
Some excerpts:
The Trader had come to Lehman only a year ago, after being recruited from a rival firm. He’d studied physics as a grad student, then come to Wall Street as the tech bubble and the aggressive gentrification of the Giuliani years remade Manhattan into a banker’s playground, a place where a $2 million salary could seem like the norm.
Like many on Wall Street, the Trader’s career was moving along briskly. By 2006, he had settled into a new $2 million house in Connecticut with a pool, and kept a pied-à-terre in Manhattan. With two young children, he had private-school tuition to cover. He had recently completed a home renovation, and now there was talk of a new porch with a built-in stainless-steel barbecue. The Trader estimated that he was two years from making enough money to retire and never have to work again.
...
The collapse of the world’s most powerful wealth-creating engine required everyone to take stock of their financials. One Lehman executive in Rye Brook, fretting about paying off a Hamptons summer house and a ski chalet in Vermont, panicked on Monday morning and laid off her nanny, who had been with the Westchester family for nine years. “The nanny called me crying,” says Marla Sanders, who runs Advance Nannies and staffs Lehman homes. “One of the children she had brought home from the hospital.” Sanders knows more cuts for her clients are on the way. “They’re going to have to sell homes. The question is, will the homes sell? They’re cutting some of the children’s activities out, dance class, acting class. Are they going to have flowers delivered every day to their homes? I don’t think so!”
...
On Friday, September 12, the Wall Street Journal reported that Lehman’s former president, Joe Gregory, who was demoted along with former CFO Erin Callan in a management shake-up in June, was listing his Bridgehampton house on Surfside Drive for $32.5 million. The collapse of Lehman’s stock is a blow to Gregory’s lifestyle. He reportedly used to travel by helicopter to midtown from his $3.5 million mansion in Huntington, which was recently renovated, according to a Sotheby’s broker. According to one source, Gregory’s financial adviser was in negotiations with Lehman’s attorneys at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, working to avert his filing for bankruptcy, after he borrowed money against his Lehman stock to pay for the renovation. “He owes a lot of money for it. They called the margin loan” late last week, the source said. (Gregory and attorneys didn’t return calls for comment.)
...
[A Craigslist post] read, “Should I leave my fiancé? … I guess I already know the answer. My boyfriend … rather fiancé, is/was employed by Lehman Brothers,” the posting stated. “In less than a week we went from being millionaires to just having a couple of 100K … I suppose this means it’s over. I am who I am. I personally blame all this on [Lehman CEO] Dick Fuld. I blame him for ruining my happiness.”
Wheeeeee!
YES!!!
(xkcd)
YouTube is the cesspool of all comment cesspools. I remember some commercial using a song I liked, so I googled the lyrics and found the artist, then went to YouTube to see the whole song.
The top (most recent) comment at the time was: "Another nig asking for money."
Yeah. I don't read YouTube comments any more.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
So bad it's... nope, still bad
Of the many series that the AV Club runs, my favorite is "I Watched This on Purpose."
Here is their treatment of 88 minutes.
(Spoilers throughout, but really, were you planning on watching this piece of shit?)
Objectively bad, I'd say.
Here is their treatment of 88 minutes.
(Spoilers throughout, but really, were you planning on watching this piece of shit?)
Objectively bad, I'd say.
Being a judge can be dirty work
Should someone who commits an “abominable and detestable crime against nature" with a sheep have to register as a sex offender?
Read the decision here.
Read the decision here.
House as ATM
Haven't visited IrvineHousing in a while, but Atrios pointed out this doozy:
- The house was purchased on 2/6/1998 for $183,000. There was a $173,500 first mortgage and a $9,500 downpayment.
- On 8/21/2002 they refinanced the first mortgage for $165,500. They actually paid down their debt.
- On 3/12/2003 they opened a HELOC for $50,000, just in case... Their first taste of kool aid.
- On 2/13/2004 they opened a HELOC for $226,000. The kool aid is flowing now.
- On 10/22/2004 they opened an Option ARM for $492,000.
- On 5/2/2005 they opened a HELOC for $75,100.
- On 10/21/2005 they opened a HELOC for $126,000.
- On 9/28/2006 they opened a HELOC for $150,000.
- Total debt on the property, $642,000 plus accumulated negative amortization.
- Total mortgage equity withdrawal, $468,500 including their tiny downpayment.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Homebrew Update / Beer Blogging
My homebrew was percolating full-bore this morning, only 9 hours after I had closed up the bucket. Now, 11 hours later it's starting to foam out the airlock. This is going to make a mess over the next couple days. I need some sort of super-tall bucket for these monster brews, with plenty of headroom for foam.
Bill's beer hasn't even started bubbling yet, but that's not unusual. He made a coffee stout with a pound of Starbuck espresso beans. That'll knock the snot out of the yeast for a little while. Should be fine by the morning.
And speaking of beer, here's a quick-shot beer-blog of what we drank:
OUSTANDING! Probably the pumpkiniest one I've every had, the aroma off the foam was pure pumpkin pie, and the flavor was perfectly balanced so that it didn't overpower. Job well done, Southern Tier.
Good. The ginger was almost too faint, which for me is saying something - I hate it when adjuncts are too overpowering (see any of Sam Adams' disgusting fruity concoctions). This was a very solid pils regardless, but I found myself looking for just a tad more ginger. That's why you buy the damned thing after all, isn't it?
OUTSTANDING!!! This was the winner of the evening. Never heard of these guys before, but they have a mighty impressive lineup of beers and two brewpubs in PA. I will definitely be getting another one of these to do a full-on review, but from the initial aroma down to the last sip, I was in love.
Bill's beer hasn't even started bubbling yet, but that's not unusual. He made a coffee stout with a pound of Starbuck espresso beans. That'll knock the snot out of the yeast for a little while. Should be fine by the morning.
And speaking of beer, here's a quick-shot beer-blog of what we drank:
OUSTANDING! Probably the pumpkiniest one I've every had, the aroma off the foam was pure pumpkin pie, and the flavor was perfectly balanced so that it didn't overpower. Job well done, Southern Tier.
Good. The ginger was almost too faint, which for me is saying something - I hate it when adjuncts are too overpowering (see any of Sam Adams' disgusting fruity concoctions). This was a very solid pils regardless, but I found myself looking for just a tad more ginger. That's why you buy the damned thing after all, isn't it?
OUTSTANDING!!! This was the winner of the evening. Never heard of these guys before, but they have a mighty impressive lineup of beers and two brewpubs in PA. I will definitely be getting another one of these to do a full-on review, but from the initial aroma down to the last sip, I was in love.
Monday, September 22, 2008
Holiday Beer!
Bill and I brewed our holiday beers tonight. They'll take a few weeks to ferment, and then we want them to sit and mellow in the bottles as long as possible, as opposed to drinking them right away. We figure we'll bottle in 3-4 weeks. His doesn't have the high sugar content mine has, but still, the longer in the secondary fermenter, the better.
The recipe...
Steeping grains:
8 oz Black Patent malt
8 oz Chocolate malt
16 oz English 2-row, 80L malt
16 oz Cara Red malt
Steep for 1/2 hour, in 3 gallons of water, for 30 minutes at 158°F.
Get that tea boiling, add 3 lbs Munton's Dark dry malt extract (DME), 6 lb Munton's Light DME, 1 lb amber rock candi sugar, and 1/2 oz Irish moss.
Get boiling again, add 2 oz Centennial 9.1% alpha hops, boil for an hour.
Shut boil down, add UK Challenger 7% alpha hops, let sit for a few minutes.
Top up to 5.5 gallons with cold water, continue cooling to 70°.
Take gravity measurement: 1.098. DAMMIT! I hate not breaking 1.1 on these big beers. Oh well.
Add Scottish Ale yeast. Aerate like crazy, close up the bucket.
If I can get this down to 1.020 final gravity, we're looking at a 10.3% ABV beer.
So, rack it down to the secondary fermenter this weekend, let it sit a couple more weeks, and target a bottling date of 10/13 or 10/20, depending on how the gravity number are going. One week in the bottle before we crack the first ones, for the carbonation and flavor test.
Maybe another one in early November. But this one needs shelf time.
The recipe...
Steeping grains:
8 oz Black Patent malt
8 oz Chocolate malt
16 oz English 2-row, 80L malt
16 oz Cara Red malt
Steep for 1/2 hour, in 3 gallons of water, for 30 minutes at 158°F.
Get that tea boiling, add 3 lbs Munton's Dark dry malt extract (DME), 6 lb Munton's Light DME, 1 lb amber rock candi sugar, and 1/2 oz Irish moss.
Get boiling again, add 2 oz Centennial 9.1% alpha hops, boil for an hour.
Shut boil down, add UK Challenger 7% alpha hops, let sit for a few minutes.
Top up to 5.5 gallons with cold water, continue cooling to 70°.
Take gravity measurement: 1.098. DAMMIT! I hate not breaking 1.1 on these big beers. Oh well.
Add Scottish Ale yeast. Aerate like crazy, close up the bucket.
If I can get this down to 1.020 final gravity, we're looking at a 10.3% ABV beer.
So, rack it down to the secondary fermenter this weekend, let it sit a couple more weeks, and target a bottling date of 10/13 or 10/20, depending on how the gravity number are going. One week in the bottle before we crack the first ones, for the carbonation and flavor test.
Maybe another one in early November. But this one needs shelf time.
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Quick! Who is this?
Hint 1: Γεώργιος Κυριάκος Παναγιώτου
Hint 2: I want your crack
Hint 3: Not Andrew Ridgley
To see hints, highlight text...
Saturday, September 20, 2008
You know Wall Street's in trouble when...
Douchebag i-bankers can't afford their whor girlfriends any more.
Friday, September 19, 2008
Nerdgasm
An amazing collection of puzzles. The free ones are intense enough, but I may just have to pony up for this place.
I'm currently ADD-hyperfocusing on Split Words, in the Language section.
Did you know there was an insect called the cockchafer?
Well, now you do.
I'm currently ADD-hyperfocusing on Split Words, in the Language section.
Did you know there was an insect called the cockchafer?
Well, now you do.
We are the world, we are the cancer
FourFour destroys the latest charity song.
I am really glad I don't listen to music radio.
He also has fun with the VMAs. I love his animated gifs. They're the best.
I am really glad I don't listen to music radio.
He also has fun with the VMAs. I love his animated gifs. They're the best.
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Cowboy fans
Three football fans were out for a ride when one noticed a foot sticking out of the bushes by the side of the road. They stopped and discovered a nude female, dead drunk.
Out of respect and propriety, the Eagles fan took off his cap and placed it over her right breast. The Giants fan took off his cap and placed it over her left breast.
Following their lead, but with some grumbling, the Dallas Cowboy fan took off his cap and placed it over her genitals.
The police were called and when the officer arrived, he conducted his inspection. First, he lifted the Eagles cap, replaced it, and wrote down some notes.
Next, he lifted the Giants cap, replaced it, and wrote down some more notes.
The officer then lifted the Cowboys cap, replaced it, then lifted it again, replaced it, lifted it a third time, and replaced it one last time.
The Cowboys fan was becoming annoyed and finally asked, 'What are you, a pervert or something? Why do you keep lifting and looking, lifting and looking?
"Well," said the officer, "I am simply surprised. Normally when I look under a Dallas Cowboys hat, I find an asshole."
(also from TJ)
Out of respect and propriety, the Eagles fan took off his cap and placed it over her right breast. The Giants fan took off his cap and placed it over her left breast.
Following their lead, but with some grumbling, the Dallas Cowboy fan took off his cap and placed it over her genitals.
The police were called and when the officer arrived, he conducted his inspection. First, he lifted the Eagles cap, replaced it, and wrote down some notes.
Next, he lifted the Giants cap, replaced it, and wrote down some more notes.
The officer then lifted the Cowboys cap, replaced it, then lifted it again, replaced it, lifted it a third time, and replaced it one last time.
The Cowboys fan was becoming annoyed and finally asked, 'What are you, a pervert or something? Why do you keep lifting and looking, lifting and looking?
"Well," said the officer, "I am simply surprised. Normally when I look under a Dallas Cowboys hat, I find an asshole."
(also from TJ)
The mind boggles
MTV shoots new season of Real World/Road Rules reality show.
MTV destroys rainforest and pristine beach to build set and house crews.
Did I forget to mention that MTV does a lot of "Be Green" and "Go Green" marketing?
MTV destroys rainforest and pristine beach to build set and house crews.
Did I forget to mention that MTV does a lot of "Be Green" and "Go Green" marketing?
I love you, Diablo
Spectacular. Calm, cool, collected, and funny smackdown of her "haters."
{bumps Juno up the queueueue a bit.}
{bumps Juno up the queueueue a bit.}
Some economy links
TJ sent these over:
Doug Diamond and Anil Kashyap with an outstanding Q&A at Freakonomics.
Bush wants to help? Haahhahaahhahhahhaaahhaahhahha....gasp...hahahhaahhhahhaaha!
Doug Diamond and Anil Kashyap with an outstanding Q&A at Freakonomics.
Bush wants to help? Haahhahaahhahhahhaaahhaahhahha....gasp...hahahhaahhhahhaaha!
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Further adventures in the death of music
I've known and been ranting about over-compression of music for a few years now, since back when it was only a topic covered in audio-nerd magazines and blogs.
The last year or two, though, awareness of the problem has spread nicely. Not enough for a critical mass of people to stop buying crap and force the record companies to actually take advantage of the talents of music engineers and producers, but still, you gotta start somewhere.
I'll say though, this is the most ridiculous thing I've ever seen:
(image from Gizmodo)
At the top, you see a segment of one of the new Metallica songs as heard on Guitar Hero 3. At the bottom, the same segment off the CD.
Holy carp! Nuance? Dynamic range? Who needs it?! (And spare the jokes about metal and Metallica and nuance, blah blah.)
So Activision got the mastersas envisioned by Rick Rubin (see below), and left them alone. Metallica's record label squashed the shit out of them to make it LOUDLOUDLOUDLOUD. No wonder I quit listening after midway through the 4th song. I couldn't stand it anymore.
For background, here is one of the best articles you'll find, and the comments are top-notch too. Wiki has a good one as well.
Well, I'm sure glad I didn't pay for the new Metallica. I'll have to wait for the anniversary remaster next year.
UPDATE: Found a cool video demonstration. Of course, you kinda need to listen through decent speakers or earphones.
UPDATE UPDATE: More on the Metallica album. "In comparison, the released CD version is - to coin a technical phrase - smashed to f**k." I'm disappointed to find that Rick Rubin had something to do with this. It's usually the label's mastering engineer at the end who does this shit, after the producer and the band are done.
UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE: Sure enough, uncompressed FLAC files from GH3 are "out there," if you know what I mean. Report forthcoming.
The last year or two, though, awareness of the problem has spread nicely. Not enough for a critical mass of people to stop buying crap and force the record companies to actually take advantage of the talents of music engineers and producers, but still, you gotta start somewhere.
I'll say though, this is the most ridiculous thing I've ever seen:
(image from Gizmodo)
At the top, you see a segment of one of the new Metallica songs as heard on Guitar Hero 3. At the bottom, the same segment off the CD.
Holy carp! Nuance? Dynamic range? Who needs it?! (And spare the jokes about metal and Metallica and nuance, blah blah.)
So Activision got the masters
For background, here is one of the best articles you'll find, and the comments are top-notch too. Wiki has a good one as well.
Well, I'm sure glad I didn't pay for the new Metallica. I'll have to wait for the anniversary remaster next year.
UPDATE: Found a cool video demonstration. Of course, you kinda need to listen through decent speakers or earphones.
UPDATE UPDATE: More on the Metallica album. "In comparison, the released CD version is - to coin a technical phrase - smashed to f**k." I'm disappointed to find that Rick Rubin had something to do with this. It's usually the label's mastering engineer at the end who does this shit, after the producer and the band are done.
UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE: Sure enough, uncompressed FLAC files from GH3 are "out there," if you know what I mean. Report forthcoming.
On education
Two interesting articles.
I need to re-read without distraction, and discuss with Erica, before I can write anything that makes sense.
I need to re-read without distraction, and discuss with Erica, before I can write anything that makes sense.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Retirement? What retirement?
Keep working, bitchez... you won't be annuitizing for a while.
(h/t Americablog)
About $700 billion evaporated from retirement plans, government pension funds and other investment portfolios.
It was by far the most stomach-churning single day since a financial crisis began to bubble up from billions of dollars in rotten mortgage loans that have crippled the balance sheets of one bank after another and landed mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac under the control of the federal government.
"We are in the middle of a deep, dark recession, and it won't end soon. Here it is, and it is pretty nasty," said Barry Ritholtz, who writes the popular financial blog The Big Picture and is chief executive officer of research firm FusionIQ.
(h/t Americablog)
Snore
The most exciting automotive development in years, in mass-market terms anyway, should have been the Chevy Volt.
At least according to early concept designs:
What we get is... the most generic car on the planet.
I'll save my pennies and wait for a Tesla I can afford, thanks.
If this is what the survival of GM rests on, well... buh bye now.
At least according to early concept designs:
What we get is... the most generic car on the planet.
I'll save my pennies and wait for a Tesla I can afford, thanks.
If this is what the survival of GM rests on, well... buh bye now.
It's black and white
This has been going around:
If you grow up in Hawaii, raised by your grandparents, you're "exotic, different."
Grow up in Alaska eating mooseburgers -- a quintessential American story.
If your name is Barack you're a radical, unpatriotic Muslim.
Name your kids Willow, Trig and Track -- you're a maverick.
Graduate from Harvard law School and you are unstable.
Attend five different small colleges before graduating, you're well grounded.
If you spend three years as a brilliant community organizer, become the first black President of the Harvard Law Review, create a voter registration drive that registers 150,000 new voters, spend 12 years as a constitutional law professor, spend eight years as a state senator representing a district with more than 750,000 people, become chairman of the state Senate's Health and Human Services committee, spend 4 years in the United States Senate representing a state of 13 million people while sponsoring 131 bills and serving on the Foreign Affairs, Environment and Public Works and Veteran's Affairs committees, you don't have any real leadership experience.
If your total resume is: local weather girl, four years on the city council and 6 years as the mayor of a town with fewer than 7,000 people, 20 months as the governor of a state with only 650,000 people, then you're qualified to become the country's second highest ranking executive.
If you have been married to the same woman for 19 years while raising two beautiful daughters, all within Protestant churches, you're not a real Christian.
If you cheated on your first wife with a rich heiress, and left your disfigured wife and married the heiress the next month, you're a Christian.
If you teach responsible, age appropriate sex education, including the proper use of birth control, you are eroding the fiber of society.
If, while governor, you staunchly advocate abstinence only, with no other option in sex education in your state's school system while your unwed teen daughter ends up pregnant, you're very responsible.
If your wife is a Harvard graduate lawyer who gave up a position in a prestigious law firm to work for the betterment of her inner-city community, then gave that up to raise a family, your family's values don't represent America's.
If your husband is nicknamed "First Dude," with at least one DWI conviction and no college education, who didn't register to vote until age 25 and once was a member of a group that advocated the secession of Alaska from the USA, your family is extremely admirable.
If you grow up in Hawaii, raised by your grandparents, you're "exotic, different."
Grow up in Alaska eating mooseburgers -- a quintessential American story.
If your name is Barack you're a radical, unpatriotic Muslim.
Name your kids Willow, Trig and Track -- you're a maverick.
Graduate from Harvard law School and you are unstable.
Attend five different small colleges before graduating, you're well grounded.
If you spend three years as a brilliant community organizer, become the first black President of the Harvard Law Review, create a voter registration drive that registers 150,000 new voters, spend 12 years as a constitutional law professor, spend eight years as a state senator representing a district with more than 750,000 people, become chairman of the state Senate's Health and Human Services committee, spend 4 years in the United States Senate representing a state of 13 million people while sponsoring 131 bills and serving on the Foreign Affairs, Environment and Public Works and Veteran's Affairs committees, you don't have any real leadership experience.
If your total resume is: local weather girl, four years on the city council and 6 years as the mayor of a town with fewer than 7,000 people, 20 months as the governor of a state with only 650,000 people, then you're qualified to become the country's second highest ranking executive.
If you have been married to the same woman for 19 years while raising two beautiful daughters, all within Protestant churches, you're not a real Christian.
If you cheated on your first wife with a rich heiress, and left your disfigured wife and married the heiress the next month, you're a Christian.
If you teach responsible, age appropriate sex education, including the proper use of birth control, you are eroding the fiber of society.
If, while governor, you staunchly advocate abstinence only, with no other option in sex education in your state's school system while your unwed teen daughter ends up pregnant, you're very responsible.
If your wife is a Harvard graduate lawyer who gave up a position in a prestigious law firm to work for the betterment of her inner-city community, then gave that up to raise a family, your family's values don't represent America's.
If your husband is nicknamed "First Dude," with at least one DWI conviction and no college education, who didn't register to vote until age 25 and once was a member of a group that advocated the secession of Alaska from the USA, your family is extremely admirable.
The words I'm looking for are "fuck" and "you"
John McCain wants to reform health insurance. In the sense that he doesn't want you to have health insurance.
Sunday, September 14, 2008
We're gonna need a bigger boat
Wall Street as we know it is done.
BoA buys Merrill, and Lehman left to rot?
New "liquidity initiatives," or bailout plans?
AIG and WaMu certain to fall next?
10s of thousands of i-bankers soon to be unemployed, aimlessly wandering the streets of Manhattan in their stripey shirts?
BoA buys Merrill, and Lehman left to rot?
New "liquidity initiatives," or bailout plans?
AIG and WaMu certain to fall next?
10s of thousands of i-bankers soon to be unemployed, aimlessly wandering the streets of Manhattan in their stripey shirts?
SNL recap
UPDATE: Got the full-length one. "And I can see Russia from my house" has got to be one of the funniest lines ever.
The opening was fantastic. Tina Fay rocked Sarah Palin, right down to the voice/accent.
After that, it was fucking terrible until a fake T-mobile commercial (excellent) and one of Samberg's insane digital shorts (even more insane than usual; I liked it).
We went through entire skits without even a grudging giggle, and I couldn't help but wonder how did they got past Wednesday's review, much less to the actual show? I mean, I've read behind-the-scenes accounts of a typical week at SNL, and it's a brutally competitive environment. You start the with 100s of ideas that get pitched, and they slowly get whittled down to the ones that will make Saturday, and even then fully fleshed-out skits get axed at dress rehearsal just hours before the broadcast. So how the fuck are these duds the winners?
Saturday, September 13, 2008
I'm dying over here
A little UB40 faux-reggae, a little Bosstones bass-line, a bit of Madness in the rhythm, and you have... this?
They call me... Angelos Tzelepis Smith
Your Gubmint - A Farce
I look forward to one of my wingnut acquaintances trying to tell me how we're safer in any way.
UPDATE: Needlenose gives us this work of art:
A Quebec businessman whose name is one of the many that have erroneously landed on the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's flight passenger watch list has decided to change his name to avoid lengthy security hassles at the airport.
Mario Labbé, an executive with a Montreal-based record company, says his Canadian passport triggers a red alert on the computers of U.S. customs agents every time he tries to board a flight to the U.S. — which is about once a month for the past seven years.
"I was pulled aside in a room ... and you have to wait your turn to finally be released," Labbé said. "An hour, an hour and a half, two hours, whatever it is after. Once I was caught in Miami like that for six hours.
"It's always the same questions, about if I've lost my passport, if I've been to Japan — I don't know why Japan, but in their file it was something to do with Japan."
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security wrote a letter to Labbé in 2004, saying he had been placed on their watch list after falling victim to identity theft. At the time, the department said there was no way for his name to be removed.
Although Labbé wrote letters to the U.S. department, his efforts were in vain, prompting him to legally change his name. "So now, my official name is François Mario Labbé," he said. "Then you have to change everything: driver's license, social insurance, medicare, credit card — everything."
Although it's not a big change from Mario Labbé, he said it's been enough to foil the U.S. customs computers.
I look forward to one of my wingnut acquaintances trying to tell me how we're safer in any way.
UPDATE: Needlenose gives us this work of art:
If you don't vote, you're a moron
Craig Ferguson rocks. His 20-30 minutes of riffing to open the show is definitely the best part of any of the late-night programs. I really want to see one of his cue cards, if he even has any. It seems like there are two or three ideas written down, and after that, who knows what's going to happen.
I'd never seen him get remotely serious though, until Wednesday night. Here it is.
Serious for him, anyway.
I'd never seen him get remotely serious though, until Wednesday night. Here it is.
Serious for him, anyway.
Double-strength Superdoppler 3450
This is an excellent stormtracking site.
Great graphics...
satellite images...
and historical data.
Folks, this one is going to worse than Katrina...
Great graphics...
satellite images...
and historical data.
Folks, this one is going to worse than Katrina...
Friday, September 12, 2008
Pool Beirut
Science!
Oh yes. Now I just need a pool. And about a dozen life-guards. Awwww, fuck it. Just gimme a couple arm-floaty thingies.
(Click the picture for some KSK funny and some cheerleaders.)
Oh yes. Now I just need a pool. And about a dozen life-guards. Awwww, fuck it. Just gimme a couple arm-floaty thingies.
(Click the picture for some KSK funny and some cheerleaders.)
Holy emmer effing ess
Something tells me not much is going to be happening here tomorrow.
(h/t, and more pictures, With Leather)
When I say dance, you'd best dance, motherfucker!
And live:
Not that I'd pay for it, but that's gotta be a fun show.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Monday, September 08, 2008
Sunday, September 07, 2008
Quick-hit movie reviews
A few things we've seen over the last few months warrant mention.
Life is Beautiful
Yes, I had never seen this before. Amazing movie. It deserved every bit of praise it got. 5 stars.
Walk on Water
A beautiful story of Jews and Germans and how the past colors the present. I remember that night we had three DVDs in-house, and we were looking for something light. Unfortunately they were all dark movies, at least by the description on the Netflix label. We picked this, and were pleasantly surprised. The issues were difficult, of course, but the end somehow felt... uplifting. 5 stars.
The Break-up
I didn't expect wonders here, just your typical rom-com. Vince Vaughn is usually funny, Jennifer Aniston is pretty good in her movies. Couple breaks up, fights over the condo they co-own. There were some truly funny moments, but Erica and I both agreed that there was too much mean and not enough funny. A couple of the conversations/arguments they had were painfully accurate though. Every now and then Erica and I would look at each other and say "Yup, I've had that one 5 times..." 3 stars.
The Simpsons Movie
Exactly what one would expect. Very funny stuff. "We're going to need more birds" had us both rolling, and Erica is still singing "Spider-pig" today. 4 stars.
--------------------
2 - Not terrible, I probably enjoyed some parts, but I'm certainly not going to recommend it.
3 - I liked it. Definitely not a waste of time. Judge from the description if the concept is for you.
4 - I really liked it, and you should see it. You may not like it as much as I did, but you won't feel cheated.
5 - Rave! What are you waiting for? Also, you're just wrong if you don't like it, so bite me.
Life is Beautiful
Yes, I had never seen this before. Amazing movie. It deserved every bit of praise it got. 5 stars.
Walk on Water
A beautiful story of Jews and Germans and how the past colors the present. I remember that night we had three DVDs in-house, and we were looking for something light. Unfortunately they were all dark movies, at least by the description on the Netflix label. We picked this, and were pleasantly surprised. The issues were difficult, of course, but the end somehow felt... uplifting. 5 stars.
The Break-up
I didn't expect wonders here, just your typical rom-com. Vince Vaughn is usually funny, Jennifer Aniston is pretty good in her movies. Couple breaks up, fights over the condo they co-own. There were some truly funny moments, but Erica and I both agreed that there was too much mean and not enough funny. A couple of the conversations/arguments they had were painfully accurate though. Every now and then Erica and I would look at each other and say "Yup, I've had that one 5 times..." 3 stars.
The Simpsons Movie
Exactly what one would expect. Very funny stuff. "We're going to need more birds" had us both rolling, and Erica is still singing "Spider-pig" today. 4 stars.
--------------------
Ratings scale recap: I use the same rating here as I do at Netflix. A little nebulous, but this is how I see them.
1 - Ugh, why can't I give this a zero?2 - Not terrible, I probably enjoyed some parts, but I'm certainly not going to recommend it.
3 - I liked it. Definitely not a waste of time. Judge from the description if the concept is for you.
4 - I really liked it, and you should see it. You may not like it as much as I did, but you won't feel cheated.
5 - Rave! What are you waiting for? Also, you're just wrong if you don't like it, so bite me.
Gotchya Balls
Erica and I went out to First Saturday, Saratoga's version of a community event that I've been to in Phoenix, Scottsdale, and a few other cities. Art galleries are open late, with cocktails and nibblies, restaurants offer discounts, etc.
In addition to the standard stuff on Broadway, there is Beekman Street, in the "Dublin" section of town. Saratoga may be famous for its money and its summer activities, but like any other town, it has its rough spots. Ten years ago, Beekman was one of them, but people have been building, renovating, and opening the kind of places that would lead to an area revival. Of course, real gentrification will follow, but that's a whole other post.
We only did the Beekman half yesterday, because we got a late start and it was raining, so we didn't feel like walking 5 blocks to get to Broadway. As it was, we had 6 galleries to see, so that was enough.
After we hit all the galleries, we went over to Gotchya's, a well regarded restaurant we hadn't been to yet. We didn't want to hit the budget too badly so we ate at home before we went out, but figured a cocktail and some dessert would be a nice way to end the evening. The place was packed and we had no reservations, but managed to get the last two bar stools. A quick perusal of the menu and we decided real food was in order. Erica went for the greens-and-beans, one of her favorite dishes, and I went for a baby pizza.
Then we noticed the Gotchya Ball, their interpretation of the "Scottish Ball," something I had certainly never heard of before. Anyway, take a hard-boiled egg, pack it into ground beef to make a giant meatball, beer-batter it, and deep-fry. Who the fuck am I to turn that down? Three apps it is.
Erica wasn't too hot on the G&B (too salty), but the pizza was excellent, as was the Ball. We decided that next month, we'll start at Broadway, move over to Beekman, then head to Gotchya's with reservations to sample the dinner menu. Very nice place.
A beer (Hennepin draft), a glass of wine (Hess chardonnay), 3 appetizers that stuffed us: $40 with tip. Perfect.
In addition to the standard stuff on Broadway, there is Beekman Street, in the "Dublin" section of town. Saratoga may be famous for its money and its summer activities, but like any other town, it has its rough spots. Ten years ago, Beekman was one of them, but people have been building, renovating, and opening the kind of places that would lead to an area revival. Of course, real gentrification will follow, but that's a whole other post.
We only did the Beekman half yesterday, because we got a late start and it was raining, so we didn't feel like walking 5 blocks to get to Broadway. As it was, we had 6 galleries to see, so that was enough.
After we hit all the galleries, we went over to Gotchya's, a well regarded restaurant we hadn't been to yet. We didn't want to hit the budget too badly so we ate at home before we went out, but figured a cocktail and some dessert would be a nice way to end the evening. The place was packed and we had no reservations, but managed to get the last two bar stools. A quick perusal of the menu and we decided real food was in order. Erica went for the greens-and-beans, one of her favorite dishes, and I went for a baby pizza.
Then we noticed the Gotchya Ball, their interpretation of the "Scottish Ball," something I had certainly never heard of before. Anyway, take a hard-boiled egg, pack it into ground beef to make a giant meatball, beer-batter it, and deep-fry. Who the fuck am I to turn that down? Three apps it is.
Erica wasn't too hot on the G&B (too salty), but the pizza was excellent, as was the Ball. We decided that next month, we'll start at Broadway, move over to Beekman, then head to Gotchya's with reservations to sample the dinner menu. Very nice place.
A beer (Hennepin draft), a glass of wine (Hess chardonnay), 3 appetizers that stuffed us: $40 with tip. Perfect.
Predictions sure to go wrong
Here's how I see the season playing out.
I'm on record, bitchez!
I'm on record, bitchez!
| AFC | ||
| East | W | L |
| New England | 12 | 4 |
| NY Jets | 9 | 7 |
| Buffalo | 7 | 9 |
| Miami | 4 | 12 |
| North | ||
| Pittsburgh | 10 | 6 |
| Cincinnati | 8 | 8 |
| Cleveland | 7 | 9 |
| Baltimore | 6 | 10 |
| South | ||
| Indianapolis | 11 | 5 |
| Jacksonville | 10 | 6 |
| Houston | 9 | 7 |
| Tennessee | 8 | 8 |
| West | ||
| San Diego | 11 | 5 |
| Denver | 9 | 7 |
| Oakland | 6 | 10 |
| Kansas City | 4 | 12 |
| NFC | ||
| East | ||
| Dallas | 11 | 5 |
| NY Giants | 10 | 6 |
| Philadelphia | 10 | 6 |
| Washington | 6 | 10 |
| North | ||
| Green Bay | 10 | 6 |
| Minnesota | 8 | 8 |
| Chicago | 6 | 10 |
| Detroit | 4 | 12 |
| South | ||
| New Orleans | 10 | 6 |
| Tampa Bay | 9 | 7 |
| Carolina | 8 | 8 |
| Atlanta | 4 | 12 |
| West | ||
| Seattle | 10 | 6 |
| Arizona | 8 | 8 |
| St. Louis | 6 | 10 |
| San Francisco | 5 | 11 |
Saturday, September 06, 2008
Mavericky! From a small town!
Jason Jones is officially insane... officially awesomely insane.
And this is a thing of beauty.
Republicans are truly pathetic.
All stolen shamelessly from Tart.
Friday, September 05, 2008
Holy emmer effing ess
Almost 10% of American home owners are behind on payments or in foreclosure.
Atrios used the word "stunning." I don't think that's even close. In fact, I don't think there's a word in the dictionary for this.
I can walk out to the end of my driveway and see more than 10 houses.
Atrios used the word "stunning." I don't think that's even close. In fact, I don't think there's a word in the dictionary for this.
I can walk out to the end of my driveway and see more than 10 houses.
Thursday, September 04, 2008
Tuesday, September 02, 2008
It's drafty
OK, all three of my fantasy football leagues are set.
First, my fraternity league, with three outsiders. The Hypocycloids:
I like this team. Solid up and down.
Next, the Toasters league, for the peanut gallery at TwoGlasses. The Saratoga Fucknecks:
Ehhhhhhhhh. Not so hot.
And last, a tech-writers' league. I present to you, Learn to Logic:
This was an auto-draft league, which is the main reason I joined. No effort involved? Sure, sign me up!
First, my fraternity league, with three outsiders. The Hypocycloids:
I like this team. Solid up and down.
Next, the Toasters league, for the peanut gallery at TwoGlasses. The Saratoga Fucknecks:
Ehhhhhhhhh. Not so hot.
And last, a tech-writers' league. I present to you, Learn to Logic:
This was an auto-draft league, which is the main reason I joined. No effort involved? Sure, sign me up!
Are you a good omnivore?
I found this at Bill's place. Great meme.
From Very Good Taste:
1. Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2. Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
3. Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.
UPDATE: the Toasts added two more "rules":
4. Asterisks on what you must try before you die.
5. A question mark after what you had to look up.
(note: if you don't know what something is, go to the VGT post, they have wiki links)
1. Venison
2. Nettle tea ?
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses ?
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda ?
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi ?
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi ?
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost ?
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong ?
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant. ***
85. Kobe beef ***
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate ***
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake
I now have a purpose in life...
From Very Good Taste:
1. Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2. Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
3. Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.
UPDATE: the Toasts added two more "rules":
4. Asterisks on what you must try before you die.
5. A question mark after what you had to look up.
(note: if you don't know what something is, go to the VGT post, they have wiki links)
1. Venison
2. Nettle tea ?
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses ?
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda ?
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi ?
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi ?
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost ?
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong ?
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant. ***
85. Kobe beef ***
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate ***
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake
I now have a purpose in life...
Showing respect
The GOP, backing off on the partying a bit.
Note, the band at one of the parties is called "Hookers and Blow."
As always, IOKIYAR.
(h/t Americablog)
Note, the band at one of the parties is called "Hookers and Blow."
As always, IOKIYAR.
(h/t Americablog)
Monday, September 01, 2008
Labor Day addendum - Fucking With Cats edition
In the post below, I told you that Meeko is a newcomer to the household, a pound dog brought in after Duke passed.
Well, he looks a lot like like Duke. Enough like Duke, in fact, that the cats didn't bat a, um, whisker(?) when he was brought home. At first...
There Meeko is, out on the patio with Mom and Don, sprawled out and loving his new home. Out of the house comes Sylvia, casual as can be, to within a foot of the black dog. Sniff? In an instant, arched back, every single hair standing on end, tail frizzed out like a bad 80s perm, huge howl/hiss, and she was out of there.
A couple minutes later, here comes Ginger, back from a hunting and/or garden-pooping session. Same thing. Up on the patio, walking along all casual-like, heading for the patio door when... sniff? ARCH/FUZZ/HISS and out of there.
Of course, here comes Midnight around the corner wondering what all the fuss is. Hey! Duke's back! Waddle on over. Sniff? ARCH/FUZZ/HISS!
Yeah, I wish I had been there for all of that. I don't know how Tufts got his introduction, but I'm sure it was amusing in its own way. First, Tufts doesn't do anything that can be reasonably called running. Not at 21 pounds, anyway. Second, he's a little shit. He probably sniffed, turned his nose up, and walked away. "Christ, not another one..."
Well, he looks a lot like like Duke. Enough like Duke, in fact, that the cats didn't bat a, um, whisker(?) when he was brought home. At first...
There Meeko is, out on the patio with Mom and Don, sprawled out and loving his new home. Out of the house comes Sylvia, casual as can be, to within a foot of the black dog. Sniff? In an instant, arched back, every single hair standing on end, tail frizzed out like a bad 80s perm, huge howl/hiss, and she was out of there.
A couple minutes later, here comes Ginger, back from a hunting and/or garden-pooping session. Same thing. Up on the patio, walking along all casual-like, heading for the patio door when... sniff? ARCH/FUZZ/HISS and out of there.
Of course, here comes Midnight around the corner wondering what all the fuss is. Hey! Duke's back! Waddle on over. Sniff? ARCH/FUZZ/HISS!
Yeah, I wish I had been there for all of that. I don't know how Tufts got his introduction, but I'm sure it was amusing in its own way. First, Tufts doesn't do anything that can be reasonably called running. Not at 21 pounds, anyway. Second, he's a little shit. He probably sniffed, turned his nose up, and walked away. "Christ, not another one..."
Labor day blogging
Erica and I took a much-needed break this weekend, and I hope you all did too.
Our plans this weekend usually involve Woody's annual Labor Day party, but we had to go down to Mom's place to get some plants in the ground. Erica has a serious hosta collection, many of them expensive collectibles, and many other plants she's not giving up when we sell this house. If they're going to make it through the winter, we had to get them moved as soon as possible to give them a chance to recover and establish themselves before winter comes.
We arrived Saturday afternoon to an empty house, unloaded the truck, and plopped on the patio. With drinks, fresh bread, and fresh tomatoes drizzled with some olive oil at our side, deep breaths were drawn. It's been a long time since I've done nothing. As in nothing. Work and house projects have kept me all kinds of busy and sleep-deprived.
Mom gets home from the a clam-bake at the firehouse, and Don, a volunteer, followed soon after. A little more food, another drink. Mom announces that they have to go to a show put on by the local historical committee, because they're on the board. Do we want to come?
Angelos (on the inside): no no no no no no no no.
Erica: at first was with me, but they managed to turn her against me.
OK, off we go. Good thing I pounded four beers before we go to a church and sit for an hour and a half.
Aaaaaaanyway, it was nice. Three local folk-artists sang songs of Catskill Mountain and Hudson Valley region history. From the towns that were razed to make room for reservoirs to provide NYC with water, to the Anti-Rent War, to the bluestone quarries, to the defunct railroads (many sunk under reservoirs), this was folk story-telling at its finest. This is how history got passed from generation to generation. One of those glad-I-went/would-have-been-fine-on-the-couch-too things. But overall, glad I went.
Sunday morning... WORK TIME! Midnight, Tufts, Ginger, and Sylviastand at atten... sit at attent... wait to be fed. Spoiled rotten fat fucking beasts, all of them. All amazing hunters too; you can safely assume that they get as much food outside as in; hence, their prodigious proportions. The amazing thing about all four of them is how they're tame as can be and bloodthirsty killers. They're all rescues, two from Greece and two from local barns/fields, and they never lost the survival instinct. I've known cats that would be dead ten seconds after walking outside. These fuckers will sit on your lap and love you up grudgingly accept your affection for 1/2 hour, then leap out the door and bring home 2 snakes, 3 squirrels, a barn swallow, and a frog. Killers I tell you!
Don does the tilling, I do the shit-shoveling, Erica is planning away.
Eeeeee-chinecia where the wind comes sweepin' down the plain...
Mmm... soon, my pretties.
Sylvia exhausts herself. Scratching on warm flagstone is tough work, you know.
Meeko decides I've had too much water. He'll take over from here.
OK, the sofa and console table over here, the loveseat over there...
Hey! A new garden. FOR ME TO POOP IN!
Ginger is the guard kitty. She was at Erica's side the whole afternoon. Supervising, and such.
While Erica was figuring out what went where, Don and I headed into town for a gun show at the firehouse.
Ooooooh, shiny.
Only two tables, nothing really exciting. But for Andes, what the heck. It's something to do.
Check out those two pop-gun-looking things. Old Quackenbush .22s. I wish the pictures conveyed just how damned small and flimsy-looking they are. The one on the right, though, weighs more than any of my long guns - solid iron. $650, too! Must be just a bit collectible. As for me, I'm not in the market for anything right now, because I have all the guns I need for practical purposes. A pellet gun, a .22 for plinking/varminting, a shotgun with both slug and shot barrels, and a 30-06. All my hunting needs are covered. Now, I'd like a .270 for longer-range shooting, and I'd like an over-under for shooting the elusive clay pigeon. But need-wise, and budget-wise, I'm good for a while.
Macro-lensing
Done!
Spot, the old-timer. He gets grayer and slower and more rickety every time we see him. He lost his brother Duke a few months ago to a farming accident, hence the arrival of Meeko. But Spot is still the man. Always outside barking at any noise, protecting the family from evil-doers. Meeko assumed beta-dog status right away, and for good reason - even Duke knew Spot was boss, and they were brothers from the same litter. Inseparable for 15 years, Duke would frolic, Spot would guard. Always. We hope Meeko learns his lessons quickly, because he'll soon have to train a youngster himself.
Can't an old man get some rest around here?
or
Fucking tourists.
or
Damned city-folk.
Wrapped up Sunday with some Scrabble and tennis on the TV.
Today, slept in, packed up, and came home laden with cucumbers, tomatoes, and squash from the garden, as well as some fresh fruit from a local farm.
Tomorrow, back to the grind.
Our plans this weekend usually involve Woody's annual Labor Day party, but we had to go down to Mom's place to get some plants in the ground. Erica has a serious hosta collection, many of them expensive collectibles, and many other plants she's not giving up when we sell this house. If they're going to make it through the winter, we had to get them moved as soon as possible to give them a chance to recover and establish themselves before winter comes.
We arrived Saturday afternoon to an empty house, unloaded the truck, and plopped on the patio. With drinks, fresh bread, and fresh tomatoes drizzled with some olive oil at our side, deep breaths were drawn. It's been a long time since I've done nothing. As in nothing. Work and house projects have kept me all kinds of busy and sleep-deprived.
Mom gets home from the a clam-bake at the firehouse, and Don, a volunteer, followed soon after. A little more food, another drink. Mom announces that they have to go to a show put on by the local historical committee, because they're on the board. Do we want to come?
Angelos (on the inside): no no no no no no no no.
Erica: at first was with me, but they managed to turn her against me.
OK, off we go. Good thing I pounded four beers before we go to a church and sit for an hour and a half.
Aaaaaaanyway, it was nice. Three local folk-artists sang songs of Catskill Mountain and Hudson Valley region history. From the towns that were razed to make room for reservoirs to provide NYC with water, to the Anti-Rent War, to the bluestone quarries, to the defunct railroads (many sunk under reservoirs), this was folk story-telling at its finest. This is how history got passed from generation to generation. One of those glad-I-went/would-have-been-fine-on-the-couch-too things. But overall, glad I went.
Sunday morning... WORK TIME! Midnight, Tufts, Ginger, and Sylvia
Don does the tilling, I do the shit-shoveling, Erica is planning away.
Eeeeee-chinecia where the wind comes sweepin' down the plain...
Mmm... soon, my pretties.
Sylvia exhausts herself. Scratching on warm flagstone is tough work, you know.
Meeko decides I've had too much water. He'll take over from here.
OK, the sofa and console table over here, the loveseat over there...
Hey! A new garden. FOR ME TO POOP IN!
Ginger is the guard kitty. She was at Erica's side the whole afternoon. Supervising, and such.
While Erica was figuring out what went where, Don and I headed into town for a gun show at the firehouse.
Ooooooh, shiny.
Only two tables, nothing really exciting. But for Andes, what the heck. It's something to do.
Check out those two pop-gun-looking things. Old Quackenbush .22s. I wish the pictures conveyed just how damned small and flimsy-looking they are. The one on the right, though, weighs more than any of my long guns - solid iron. $650, too! Must be just a bit collectible. As for me, I'm not in the market for anything right now, because I have all the guns I need for practical purposes. A pellet gun, a .22 for plinking/varminting, a shotgun with both slug and shot barrels, and a 30-06. All my hunting needs are covered. Now, I'd like a .270 for longer-range shooting, and I'd like an over-under for shooting the elusive clay pigeon. But need-wise, and budget-wise, I'm good for a while.
Macro-lensing
Done!
Spot, the old-timer. He gets grayer and slower and more rickety every time we see him. He lost his brother Duke a few months ago to a farming accident, hence the arrival of Meeko. But Spot is still the man. Always outside barking at any noise, protecting the family from evil-doers. Meeko assumed beta-dog status right away, and for good reason - even Duke knew Spot was boss, and they were brothers from the same litter. Inseparable for 15 years, Duke would frolic, Spot would guard. Always. We hope Meeko learns his lessons quickly, because he'll soon have to train a youngster himself.
Can't an old man get some rest around here?
or
Fucking tourists.
or
Damned city-folk.
Wrapped up Sunday with some Scrabble and tennis on the TV.
Today, slept in, packed up, and came home laden with cucumbers, tomatoes, and squash from the garden, as well as some fresh fruit from a local farm.
Tomorrow, back to the grind.
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