"That's the Story"

Via National Review, Lois Learner's attorney:

“She was as upset as anybody else was about the loss of the emails,” Taylor said. “The truth is this was one of those things that happened — at the time she did everything she could to retrieve it.”

“That’s the story — that’s all there is to it,” he added.

Yeah, and O.J. is still looking for the real killers. 

Notice Lerner's attorney does a little verbal slight of hand:

"The record that was created at the time in terms of e-mails is undisputed. She walked into the office one day and her screen went blue..."

I don't doubt that the record shows that the tech guys got a call. And that they found a machine with scorched hard drive. But the record doesn't show that she walked into the office and her screen went blue. That's just what she claims.

Another thing... I'm reminded of those purposefully broken PDF's that some college kids use to finesse an extra day's grace on late assignments:

Although it is usually an unfortunate event, corrupting a file can sometimes be useful. For example, you have to deliver a document today but it is not ready yet. A solution is to send a corrupted document, pretending it is the completed version. The recipient will not be able to open it, but the computer will appear as the culprit, not you.

Look, I don't know if she had a tech competent accomplice erase, then write, then corrupt her hard drive; it could be her accomplice just switched her hard drive out with a known toasted drive. Lerner just claims her screen went blue. That's what's on the undisputed record: her claim.

Obviously Nitrous Fueled

Meanwhile in Norway...



from

Brash Bieber Bashes Bumpers, Bearded Blogger Bemused

I saw it on Drudge, The Biebs in Crash During Paparazzi Chase:

We're told the Escalade was going down Canon Drive at a fast clip, trying to lose the photog, when a BMW was pulling out of a parking structure near Bouchon restaurant.  An eyewitness tells us ... the BMW misjudged the speed of the Escalade and smashed into it.

We're told Bieber almost immediately got out of the SUV and into another car and sped off...

"We're told" and "we're told" It's sort of like "don't blame us if this is all wrong; we're just saying what we were told..."

Like that despicable Harry Reid... but I digress. Thing is, when you hear about car crashes, involving anyone, you should shift into concerned mode. But, to my shame, when I read about the Beib smashup, all I could think of was:

Uppa-Down That Frown

I knew it. Stress leads to arterial inflammation which your body soothes with the grease from that tasty bacon.

So, once again, we see that the only thing Science knows for sure is that the climate was perfect a hundred years ago and now you've gone and ruined everything. Oddly, all other science is allowed to evolve, just not global oh my dear lord we're doomed warming.

In the end, I think your egg and hamburger sandwich (with salt!) will be acquitted.

Here, have more therapy for that heart:



h/t: wetdry

How Long Can This Go On?

Twenty minutes. Feel free to jump ahead.

Towel Dancing

Pardon the French.

Not a Smidgen of Corruption

Officials at the IRS claimed yesterday that they had found the dog that ate every single e-mail from Lois Lerner to any recipient outside the IRS. When it was pointed out that their "dog" was actually a magazine cover, and that it was an illustration, not even a picture, of a real dog, the IRS spokesman said they would resume their search.

Pants on Fire

Here, for no particular reason, is a picture of the president.

Interesting article at Research Digest:

Obviously some people lie more often than others. What's surprising is new research showing that the spread of lying propensity through the population is uneven. There is a large majority of "everyday liars", and a small minority of "prolific liars". 

A few years ago Kim Serota and his colleagues put a figure on this. They surveyed a thousand US citizens and found that five per cent of the sample were responsible for 50 per cent of all lies told. Now Serota's group have analysed data from nearly 3000 people in the UK and they've found the same pattern - the existence in the population of a minority of extremely prolific liars.

h/t: wetdry

Rijsttafel in DC

As everyone knows, June 16th is the day we reserve for restaurant reviews on even numbered years. So here it is:  Satay Sarinah, in Alexandria Virginia.

Saturday night the lumberkid organized a Rijsttafel father's day dinner and it was great.

I had rijsttafel in Amsterdam as a kid and have been on the lookout for it ever since. I found it in one of the Dutch Caribbean islands but I never expected to find it in America. Then, last month, an idle search turned it up; and just a half hour away. Why, I could have rijsttafel every night. 

Rijsttafel is like an Indonesian sampler with up to 40 dishes being brought out in courses. Some of it is spicy, but the Satay Sarinah version wasn't overly so. The spice-fire seems to be calibrated for an American audience.

My memory and taste buds have probably changed over the years but some of the dishes I remembered from Amsterdam were so hot that my face left this plane of existence. In fact, well over 40 years later, I'll still feel an occasional taste bud coming back online; having finally recovered from my culinary abuse. Still, next time I visit Satay Sarinah if I'm not part of a large party I may ask for more fire... just a bit.

 Satay Sarinah is just inside the beltway in Alexandria. If you're in DC for a visit, you should give them a try. The dress is casual, paper napkins, but clean and comfortable. My favorite was the spicy beef but everything was good. (the link above has the rijsttafel menu)

One note: keep your knife for dessert. You won't need it for eating, but the fried banana is so good you may need it to defend your portion from your table-mates.

That Time Again

(clickabiggen)