In five years..

I'm going to start stockpiling valium for the inevitable day:

Foolish Dictator

From a NTT story via Tim Blair:

The Iraqi dictator was so secretive and kept information so compartmentalized that his top military leaders were stunned when he told them three months before the war that he had no weapons of mass destruction, and they were demoralized because they had counted on hidden stocks of poison gas or germ weapons for the nation’s defense.

Saddam's first mistake was assuming that we would
be deterred by his ruse. Deception worked in the old
USSR, many of the missiles in those military parades
were fake, but there is a difference between a nuclear
confrontation and limited chemical warfare. We could, and
would have, confronted a chem-bio armed Iraq.

OK It's hard to admit that the intelligence was wrong,
or mostly wrong. But was the U.S. response to Saddam's
elaborate lie wrong?
I'm thinking here about the foolish bank robber who,
when confronted by the police, reaches in his pocket
and announces that he's got a gun. It matters little
that he only had a bologna sandwich in that pocket,
he's still going to be the guy with the bullet holes
in him. (stealing my own comment)

Geese and Bats

Man, what nice weather. Sat on the back porch
and heard the geese flying over the house. They
do it every evening in the summertime. They go
from the day pond to the sleeping pond I suppose.
Then fly back the next morning.

I remember telling the kid that the geese were
hunting on those evening commutes, "See, they
use the honking as a kind of sonar to locate bats.
When they locate a big juicy bat, they swoop down
and snatch him from the sky." Most likely I'm
responsible for any bad science grades.

Something Fishy

Seen the story about the retired school teacher who
had his check held in limbo because Homeland Security
decided it was suspicious? There IS something suspicious
but it's with that story. I can't believe that paying
$6,522 on your credit card bill would raise any kind
of alarm, or, that if it did, Homeland Security would
be able to investigate all the occurrences of that type
that must happen daily. It just doesn't scan.

Cold Tuesday

OK maybe it wasn't COLD cold but it was cold enough
for me. And my next job is in a field so I've been
putting it off. Not that my alternatives have been
exciting. I've been dealing with real estate lawyers
and looking into branching out into other forms
of drudgery to make up for my lost contracts.

Which, other drudgery, is, well what I would like
to get more into is personal mobility carts. You know,
like in the supermarket. They're darned easy to work on,
and they do break down a lot. And I can get much more of
the supermarket work if I want it, all I have to do is
spread my card around... but what I'm internally debating
is whether I want to get into selling the things. See, I know
that for a long while you couldn't make a go of it by just
selling the carts to individuals. At least I know many
of the early companies struggled. Now the changing demographics
might be changing all that. More old folks means more carts.
(Take a good look at Eddie Van Halen and tell me a mobility
solution isn't just around the corner for him)

And with this baby-boomer thing happening, well, Eddie won't
be able to swing a bong without hitting three other guys in
mobility carts. But here's the thing; there are going to be a
lot of these things on the used-cart market. I mean, Eddie goes
to that mosh pit in the sky ... ok, long way off, but still,
he won't be taking the cart with. And would I want to be in
the used cart market? I dun think so. I'm too much of a sucker
for lil ol ladies. (the last three wheelchairs I worked on I
took zero, 20, and zero dollars for) Yeah, maybe I'll stick
with the commercial work.

Kirby Puckett

"When you're around him, he makes you feel pretty good about yourself. He can make you laugh. He can do a lot of things that can light up a room. He's a beauty."

cookie monster

So I've thought for awhile that this one boy
at school might be sweet on the lumberkid.
No proof or anything, just that he walks into
walls when she's around. Anyway, it's pretty
much official now; I see he's buying $49.00 worth
of Girl Scout cookies from her.

What ever happened to expressing your interest via
a solid punch to the shoulder?

Foil Hats

The oil-rich United Arab Emirates is a major investor in The Carlyle Group, the private equity investment group where the President's father once served as senior advisor....

Not only that, Condoleeza Rice is known to have stayed in a room at the
Fairmont hotel in Washington DC that was once occupied by the brother of
the man who was in charge of electrical maintenance at the World Trade Center.

It's Lunch

Whenever our pets APPEAR to be thinking, I'm convinced they're
just trying to imagine what something would taste like.

Pretty Stark Evidence

Of all the meth faces this one illustrates best what 5 years on methadrine will do to you. Though some people hit bottom sooner, this guy hits bottom best.