Re: Cowboys

Six turnovers and the Pokes still win and two Superbowl thrashings. If it weren't for the Oilers, I suspect Buffalo would hate Texas.

Having said that, I agree that this will all come crashing down soon. Don't they play a real team on Sunday?

The F-ing Cowboys

God I can't take much more of the sports talk up here. To coin a Jim Rome phrase, Cowboys fans are all myopian. And not just the fans, but the talk show hosts are giddy beyond belief and the SB spin is in FULL effect. An example...

Before the Bills' game Monday night, the general feeling was that there was NO WAY Dallas could or would lose. They were going to roll out and destroy the Bills. It would be over by halftime, that is how good the Cowboys are and how bad the Bills are.

Tuesday morning, the spin was that the Cowboys showed their true greatest by winning a close game. It was a good thing for them to play and win a close game. Nothing about how bad they played, nothing about the Bills - if one hadn't known anything, you would come away from the spin thinking the Cowboys played a GREAT team, played a GREAT game and won. A truly great team doesn't win all their games easily - the truly great ones play and win close ones.

Romo is the second coming. Phillips is a genius. Jerry is a genius. I'm going to have to listen to Mike Gallagher or my jihadist station in the mornings; Medved in the afternoons. Shoot me now...please.

The Great Flood Update

The repair work started this morning. Ceiling is down in the kitchen and the good news is that the structure looks fine, the beams and wood look fine - so no surprises so far. Walls look fine as well. They will know more in the next couple of days. C and I have spent the last few weekends doing the whole floors/carpets/counter tops/stove stop/back-splash/sinks etc thing. She seems shocked at how much the "upgrades" she wants to do are going to cost us out-of-pocket. I think I came to that realization several weeks ago.

Cheese

A post for Michael's son. Learning of his love of cheese (one I share), I forgot to ask if he's tried any of the smoked cheeses. I just had a piece of one of my faves...smoked Gouda. Has he tried any? I know those bleu cheeses will take some time. The smoked cheeses, however, he might like.

Re: Google

Last week was the celebration of Sputnik. They allow China to censor.

Today they trade at $615 per share.

Google unpatriotic

"Not only did Google honor an achievement by a totalitarian regime that was our Cold War enemy, they griped, but it did so without having ever altered its logo to commemorate U.S. military personnel on Memorial Day or Veterans Day."

And don't forget the first Commie in space.

Headline

"People Getting Older: Gays and Lesbians Hardest Hit."

Hmmmmmm

"In 1988, the surgeon general, C. Everett Koop, proclaimed ice cream to a be public-health menace right up there with cigarettes . . . . It may seem bizarre that a surgeon general could go so wrong. After all, wasn’t it his job to express the scientific consensus? But that was the problem. Dr. Koop was expressing the consensus."

Now where have I heard about some other scientific consensus lately?

Stephen Hunter

Thanks to Michael for letting me know that my favorite author’s new Bob Lee Swagger novel is out.

And, yes, I know that The Shooter was pretty awful.

Come to think of it, maybe I am a gun "nut."

Re: The Dumbing Down of the Electorate

It's also part of having started the campaign two years prior to the election.

Victor Davis Hanson blogging from Kuwait

From his Works and Days at Pajamas Media:


(3) As a supporter of some four years of the now unpopular effort to remove Saddam and leave a democracy in his place, I continue to have only one reservation, albeit a major one. The U.S. soldier in the field is so unusually competent and heroic that one comes to despair at the very thought of losing even one of them. As a military historian I know that an army that can’t take casualties can’t win, but I confess after spending 16-hour days with our soldiers in impossible conditions one wonders whether the entire country of Iraq is worth the loss of just of these unusual Americans. I understand both the lack of logic and perhaps amorality in such a sweeping statement, but feel it nonetheless out here.

“You Can’t Legislate Morality”

I’ve always thought that was the most ridiculous statement ever, ok, maybe not ever, about governance. What is legislation about theft, rape, murder, tax evasion, perjury, etc…, if not the legislation of morality?

Dr. King, through Star Parker, taught me why I was wrong today at Townhall in her column on Jena:

The Rev. Martin Luther King pointed out that "It may be true that you cannot legislate morality, but behavior can be regulated." He observed that through legislation, he may not be able to get the other guy to love him, but he sure can use it to stop the guy from lynching him.

The Dumbing Down of the Electorate

Last night I was listening to Michael Savage and he was going off on journalists and how/what they are reporting about the Presidential candidates. Instead of reporting what their views / stances are (and he piped in with Rudy, there wouldn’t be anything to tell us because no one knows what his positions are), we just get told how money each raised in the past week/month/quarter. So if Hillary raises more than Obama, that means she is a better candidate. He made the analogy of how journalists no longer review movies, they just tell us the box office $$ each week. The higher the gross, the better the movie. He had me laughing out loud and thinking that he is a loonie.

But, driving to work this morning, Mike Gallagher was talking to Gov. Huckabee and was making almost the exact same argument, not so much using the movie box office analogy, just that all we hear about the candidates is how much $$ they raise, not about their positions. And on CNN online this morning, the lead story in the politics section was about fund raising. Perhaps Savage isn’t as loonie as it might appear.

Re: 3rd Party Threat

Dobson has a HUGE following.

I’m not prepared to worry just yet although gf2 and the survey did get me going a bit last night. I think it just a slam at, duh, Rudy. Rudy’s my candidate in spite of many of his social positions because I think he’s the only guy who can beat her. And he's right on WWIV. He's the guy I think of when I hear the Samuel Jackson line about which I asked earlier, "I don't like you because you're trying to get me killed!"

He also seems to be the only guy, other than Paul, who seems to really understand the markets.

I know, I know, the Stepford Candidate from Massachusetts is a great business man but I don’t like some of what I’m hearing from him. I need to learn more about Mitt’s health insurance plan in Mass., too, and what he wants done nationally.

Back to Dobson, he is just not being practical. I appreciate that if one were as marrow-deep pro-life as Dobson is, then one could justifiably be conflicted as a matter of principle about supporting someone who is pro-choice, also as a matter of principle, regardless of what he promises about judges. But he needs to be practical and I suspect he will be.

I think the timing of this is pretty astute on Dobson’s part. Make noise now in an effort to get his preferred candidate the nomination and if that fails and Rudy wins, shut up. Who is going to throw his hat in the ring against Rudy? Huckabee (probably Dobson's choice)? I don’t think so. Romney (I don’t even know what Dobson thinks of Romney)? Not a chance. Newt? Even though staunchly pro-life, Dobson would still have to hold his nose. Paul (the oxymoronically pro-life Libertarian)? Maybe, but he’s so bad on WWIV, I don’t think he could garner much support.

No, I think if Rudy wins the nomination, Dobson just goes quiet. Or, he has one of those meetings like he did with the Supreme nominees and comes away convinced Rudy will do the right thing with the judges.

Even if I’m wrong, I’m not sure the Evangelical base would follow Dobson on this (I know I won’t) given the alternative.

Re: Third Party Threat

This isn't a cop out, but since I haven't watched or read about ANY of the seemingly 1,000 debates that have been held so far (1 year BEFORE the freaking election), I don't have any idea. Plus, have the wacko parties (Libertarian, Communist, Green, etc.) even "nominated" or announced who their candidates are?

But, to try to answer your question, instead of telling you who I would vote FOR if the election were tomorrow, let me tell you who I would NOT vote for (in no particular order):

McCain - no
Giuliani - no
Thompson - no
Huckabee - no
Obama - no
Hillary - no
Edwards - no
Hunter - no

So I guess that means I'll have to choose between Richardson, Romney or Paul.
Oh joy....

The third party threat

The discussion tonight on HH led by gf2 (KLP) re Dobson is scaring the bejeebus (!) out of me. Questions: How many people are in his organization? Of those, how many will walk away if he tells them to? Where are they located? Are there enough in any red state that a third party candidate would throw the state to Hill? If so, how many states would it take to scuttle victory? Is Perot in '92 a fair analogy or did he have many more votes than Dobson can generate?

Scooter, I know you're busy but I'd like your memo on my desk by the time I get in.

LJ, I started to write that you should help Scooter with his memo because, while it's our problem, one would expect you'd be interested in the answers because you stand to gain; but then I thought, "I can't imagine the LJ I know supporting any of the Dims." But you must support someone. So I ask, who? And do not give me any crap about it's too early, etc. If you prefer, my question to you is: If the election were held today, for whom would you vote?

Re: Into the Wild

Does anyone watch Survivorman or the "phony" Bear Gryllis show?

I wouldn't worry about any kind of Dixie Chicks moment; you can't help who picks up the rights to a project in which you have interest.

And, I'd say we should've known that Comrade Penn would become a good actor and director because of his performance in Fast Times.

Re: ManU

Just in case LJ picks up BBC America, he can join the dozens of fans of Footballer's Wives.

Kind of a Dallas meets Dynasty meets Desperate Housewives on crack.

Embarrassing Update: I've watched too many of the episodes. The women are exceedingly, er, uh, hot. Our friend Cin watches, too.

Re: Sherry Enema

Rush channeled Michael at 20 minutes into hour 1.

Soccer

Please. In real American sports, men don't pretend to be injured. Hell, they play injured and lie about not being injured. Soccer is for Euros, Mexicans, and wusses in general. Here's some exciting manly soccer for you.

Re: Into the Wild

The DMN gave it a great review. In fact, every review I've read so far has been very positive. I've been looking forward to seeing this for quite a long time. It opened here in Dallas last weekend and I have got to find some time to see it.

One of my all time favorite books and it started me on my obsession with Alaska/Artic/Canadian-themed wilderness books. One might not approve of Comrade Penn's politics, but is a very good actor (who would have predicted that following "Fast Times at Ridgemont High") and a very good director.

Re: Pains me

ManU is THE greatest sports franchise in the world. As I red devil supporter, I must defend them. Besides, people who think football (soccer) is boring must have never watched a baseball game.

Into The Wild

is Jon Krakauer's account of the journey of Chris McCandless, who "torched his money, abandoned his family and flung himself into the Alaskan wilderness with a new identity and only a whisper of a prayer of survival." It's a great book. Krakauer also wrote Into Thin Air, his first hand narrative of the disastrous 1996 climb of Everest, also a great read.

Into The Wild is now a movie, coming out this weekend it looks like. Directed by Comrade Penn, so I've got a Dixie Chick decision to make. Review in the Chronic here.

Sherry Enema

.47. Dude.

St. Paul on Diana West

When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me.

1 Corinthians 13:11 (New International Version)

From BibleGateway.

Though it pains me to link it...

Tom Sowell's "Random Thoughts" on the greatest sports franchise in history (with apologies to Manchester United):

More than one-fourth of the American League pennants in the 20th century were won by the New York Yankees -- and they didn't win their first pennant until 1921.

Red Mass

Attended my first Red Mass this evening at St. Mary Cathedral Church. Amazingly beautiful building.

The Austin Diocese celebrates it following the First Monday in October to coincide with the opening of Supreme Court. The purpose is to bless/consecrate lawmakers, judges, lawyers, etc... to do their best.

Very humbling.

Had to go in light of publication this week of the memoirs of Associate Justice Thomas, My Grandfather's Son.

Re: Judge Dad

Shouldn't that be "an (expletive) judge?"

Of course I'm kidding; one must assume the expletive started with the fourth consonant and ended with the fifth.

Re: WW IV

How strong are NP's arguments on the propagation of democracies in the Middle East aspect of the Bush Doctrine? That is the tine with which I am losing faith.

World War IV

The Bush Doctrine explained, neoconservatism defended. If you believe we're in a war--and I do--Norman Podhoretz's book proposes that it's World War IV.

"My daddy is a (expletive) judge."

Oh yes she did.

Re: Reid and Harkin v. Limbaugh

On further reflection I could've been more concise.

By stooping to criticize Limbaugh despite his power (real or imagined and I've conceded I'm a fan), Reid and Harkin and the rest demean their offices.

Reid and Harkin v. Limbaugh

I guess I've underestimated the power of Rush. I've listened fairly regularly for years, primarily just for the enjoyment of listening to a guy who so clearly enjoys what he does: entertaining his audience.

Sure, I occasionally learn something like I did yesterday in his 90 minutes with Associate Justice Thomas, but I'd never use him as a primary source. What does he regularly call himself? Something like, "expert broadcast specialist." The other titles he bestows upon himself are pretty clearly marketing ploys.

Reid's comments and especially Harkin's drug reference on the floor appear so whiny, so small; it's embarrassing. Why give this attention to a radio host? The answer has to be they fear him. How cowardly is that? Afraid of a radio guy.

I know he has power and probably did have an effect in the '94 Republican taking of Congress but he's still just a radio guy.

This is silly. Please stop it.

Arkansas and Texas

Ok, I'm now completely sold that our "student-athletes" need a playoff in Division 1A. Why do I have any reason to watch the rest of the UT season except on the extremely remote chance that there will be X number of one-game losses for those ahead of the one-loss teams?

Of course I'll watch and even pay any outrageous PPV fees, but with much less heart.

And, I readily acknowledge that UT should have two losses.

Re: The Hillary Laugh

I listened to the HH Friday show yesterday and Chowda Man had much fun with same.

The Hillary laugh

I hadn't seen it until just now. Hog On Ice has it. It's chilling.

Comcast v. Roadrunner?

Did Comcast buy out Roadrunner or did the monopoly die in the Houston area?

My Llama .45

I've had my Llama .45 cal. for about 20 years. It was a gift from my Dad. On my Dad's passing, my brother and I divied up his quite substantial arsenal (much larger than I had suspected).

Included in my haul are two Colt 1911 .45s. Ok, more of the same except for the classic 1911 style that I've envied for some time.

New to me are two little Colt autos, a .32 and a .25. Both pea shooters.

A Ruger long barrel .22 six in the cylinder pistol. Still a pea shooter but a genuine target pistol.

Also new to me a Marlin .44 mag Rem. Magnum rifle...classic cowboy design...like Chuck Connors carried in The Rifleman. And a Smith & Wesson .357 Magnum, also six in the cylinder. I knew these were powerful guns but I went to Academy today to by ammunition. Obviously I need to do that before I take them out to see how they perform. As Lileks would say, "jeebus!" these are huge bullets. I had no idea what magnums (magna?) were.

Obviously, my .45s are actually larger. The magnum projectiles are not so imposing (except that the .357s are hollow point) but the cartridges holding the charge are huge. I cannot imagine what the recoils will be from these things.

Almost felt illegal just buying these things.

Re: The Great Flood

Great News. I'm happy for you both. Hopefully this will continue.

Re: The Great Flood

So far, State Farm has been great. We are using their Preferred Service Plan, which is basically you pay your full deductible up front, and from then on you pay nothing. Once the general contractor and the flooring contractor get involved, State Farm pays them, not us. The only thing(s) we pay are any upgrades that we want (counter tops, flooring, carpet, etc).

You pay the deductible to people who dry out the house. However, I was told by the operations manager guy that came out a couple of times during the process that their bill ALONE would probably end up twice what my deductible was (State Farm will pay them the difference). So right then, I'm ahead of the game....

State Farm gave us a list of 4 or 5 general and flooring contractors to choose from. If you don't have a preference, the next ones in the rotation are chosen for you. While they won't "endorse" any one over the other (since they all have to meet certain standards for State Farm), one of the State Farm guys who works in this program told me about each one, so I got a sense of them.

State Farm is also paying for any increase in our electric bill during the dry out time (our usage went WAY up...3076 kwh the month before to 4800 this month), any increase in our water bill, eating expenses since our kitchen will be torn up and not usable, and for any days we have to stay in a hotel or extended stay place.

So far they are getting high marks from me....

LJ/Noah and the Great Flood

Are the adjusters treating you fairly or is it still too soon to tell?

Still a little groggy...

Had some gum work done today under conscious sedation. Total success but I'm moving a little slowly.

Re: That's what I'm talking about...

There you go. 80 years ago.

Re: It's Rudy and Hillary

I'll take it, too. Rudy's been hitting me up for $$$ for months. Guess I'll get out the checkbook.

It's Rudy v Hillary

Says JPod. I'll take that.

"That's what I'm talking about."

I thought that phrase was recently coined; it wasn't. Listen to Pinetop from 1929 in today's Bleat.

Re: Your Candidate

Ugh. I'm McCain and then Fred...at least on this survey.

McCain's Energy Policy

Who knew the crusty "maverick" would be the most sensible? From today's NRO:

We have in use today, a zero-emission energy that could provide electricity for millions more homes and businesses than it currently does. Yet it has been over 25 years since a nuclear-power plant has been constructed. The barriers to nuclear energy are political not technological. We’ve let the fears of 30 years ago, and an endless political squabble over the storage of nuclear spent fuel make it virtually impossible to build a single new plant that produces a form of energy that is safe and non-polluting. If France can produce 80-percent of its electricity with nuclear power, why can’t we? Is France a more secure, advanced, and innovative country than we are? Are France’s scientists and entrepreneurs more capable than we are? I need no answer to that rhetorical question. I know my country well enough to know otherwise.

Who is your candidate?

Quiz. My answer(s) in comments.

GM Strike

GM able to get "union-aligned trust" to take some of its health care liabilities.

From Reuters:

The agreement allows GM to shift more than $50 billion of retiree health-care liabilities to an independent union-aligned trust -- a breakthrough expected to allow Detroit automakers to cut in half a labor-cost gap against Japanese competitors.

If GM couldn't manage the costs, how well will this "trust?" Good for GM but those UAW folks better start saving.

Re: Re: Pokes

Who knew LJ was a closet jihadist?

I'm still not sold on the Pokes' Offensive Line. We'll see.

Doesn't Dr. Skip (Bayless) still have a voice in Big D? He was a real homer under Landry but never seemed afraid to speak truth to power after the Landry decapitation.

Hindsight Bias

Nice article on the subject today at TCS.

From the part on Afghanistan and Iraq:

In hindsight, most people made the right decision about Afghanistan and Iraq. That is, in hindsight, most people are in favor of invading the former and against invading the latter.

...

In fact, the unexpectedly low cost of invading Afghanistan may have been one of the reasons for the unexpectedly high cost of invading Iraq. The Bush Administration probably based its expectations of the latter on the outcome of the former.

For now, it is not clear what is the best strategy in Iraq. Some argue that the larger the role that Americans take in the war, the less incentive for the Iraqi government to address difficult issues. Others argue that without a major American presence, security will deteriorate and the country will sink into sectarian violence. Years from now, we may know the answer to these and other questions. And with hindsight bias, we will wonder how those who were on the wrong side of the issue could have been so blind. Meanwhile, real decisions have to be made with imperfect information.

Finally

The one lesson we could learn from our European betters finally arrives. From the DMN:

NRG Energy and CPS Energy filed with regulators Monday for licenses to build two new nuclear reactors at the South Texas Project, the first nuclear power application in nearly 30 years.

...

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission expects applications for about two dozen new licenses in the next couple of years as power companies attempt to take advantage of federal loan guarantees for nuclear reactors. The NRG application may test Americans' appetite for the pollution-free energy that carries a risk of radioactive spills.

But of course:

NRG's other partner at the South Texas Project, the city of Austin's utility, hasn't decided whether to invest in the new reactors and won't make that decision for a few months, spokesman Ed Clark said.

Re: Pokes

I can barely listen to "The Ticket" because it is almost 24/7 "boys". My radio choices are very limited and especially in the mornings, I find myself listening to this station that I think is Arabic. During part of my morning drive, they have what I think is the adhan (muslim call to prayer) which for some reason I find somewhat soothing. Then a speaker saying who knows what, then music. For all I know, the speaker is spewing some bin Laden type musings - or it could be a commercial. I did hear a station promo once that said "Dallas....Houston", so perhaps it is carried in H-town.

Anyway....back to the Cowboys. Sunday night I did what I normally do - I watch their games until it seems like they will win, then I turn it off.

Myth of the Rational Voter

This is a tough read...lots of charts and math (neither of which is my strong suit) but worth the read so far.

Pokes

Watched that game last night...is Romo...are the Pokes for real? I'm not yet sold but the OL surprised. LJ, the radio buzz in Dallas must be going nuts.

Re: Single-payer Portent

From a reader citing this:

“On March 1, 2008, the level of subsidy will begin to be reduced, which will gradually lead families toward independence. Program participants will pay a portion of the cost, which will begin at $50 per month and incrementally increase each month thereafter until the program concludes on March 1, 2009...

and of course FEMA/HUD, both admin agencies with bush appointees at helm. Years of Rep controlled Congress could have made changes if they'd wanted to...”

Me: Well, I'm happy that the winding down seems to have commenced. Should have been transferred to HUD a long time ago (not that my faith in HUD far exceeds my faith in FEMA but, working often with HUD, faith in HUD does exceed faith in FEMA). FEMA should be for the quick in and out, HUD for the long-term. I realize there are those who will likely need assistance for about...forever.

It appears my clients' tenants will have received two full years of free rent and a third year that will average one-half of the total rent for the year if the increments are also $50.00 and good for them.

The Republican controlled Congress, the GWB Agencies, and GWB are precisely those upon whom I lay the blame. Can't point the finger anywhere else.

Single-payer portent

Ok, I’m getting a little ticked now.

We all remember August 29, 2005. Of course, that was the day Katrina hit. By November, my gracious clients had purchased two brand new 3-2 homes in Austin. They then leased them to two Katrina families for whopping $600 per month for three years with three one year options AND an option to purchase at any time at the price my clients paid for the homes WITH ALL rent paid to be applied to the purchase price.

Play one’s cards right and that means one rents for six years and has an automatic $43,200.00 down payment to apply toward the purchase of a six year old home that was built for about $170,000. In other words, the tenants get $43,200.00 PLUS any appreciation over six years in INSTANT equity. Finance the balance over 30 years at a high 7.5% and the payments, less tax and insurance, would be about $890.00 per month.

Yes, yes, Scooter, you mentioned all this in 2006. Why the capital letters? Why so upset?

Because I just got notice today that FEMA HAS EXTENDED THEIR RENTAL SUBSIDY (100%) THROUGH NOVEMBER! TWO YEARS AFTER THE EVENT!

I certainly don’t blame the families here. I'd keep my nose in the trough/mouth at the teat as long as possible, too. I’ve even kinda lived it recently with all the tests my Dad went through in his last months on Medicare. But having lived through all the inefficiencies imbedded in that system (rough guess, maybe $5000-$9000 in unneeded tests), this FEMA thing continues to depress.

Heaven help us if we go single-payer health care.

Quiz

Here. I'm apparently a Nazi.

Good Heavens Krauthammer was depressing today...

with his column on the Israeli strike in Syria.

Good thing Totten published this in Reason. Quite long but worth the time.

ISI Civics Quiz

C'mon, my SSJ brethren, take the quiz. Let's hear those results. I'm ready if you humiliate me.

Book 'em Horns!

What do you call a drug ring in Austin? The huddle.

Austin, the Miami of Texas.

Last Tues morning at 3:05 am

I haven't been reading the board much lately. In fact, I haven't been doing much of anything other than work, sleep and dealing with an event that occurred last week.

I woke up at said time to the sound of what I thought was rain drops. Since it had rained very hard here in DFW the night before, I didn't think much of it. However, it didn't sound "right" - the rain sounded louder than normal. So I listened for a minute and decided that the rain was coming from inside the house. I went out of our bedroom, through the family room into the kitchen, where the rain sounds were extremely loud. I turned on a light and saw....

water pouring out of the light fixture I had turned on. I looked down and saw that I was standing in water. I looked around and water was coming out of most of the light fixtures in the kitchen. I ran upstairs and the landing area was drenched. I turned on a light and water was coming out of the little closet where our water heater is. I opened the closet and water was just pouring out of the bottom of it. I tried to turn the water off via the cut off value, but it didn't work. After trying to turn the water off to the entire house (which is at the street at the meter which was under water because of the rain the night before), I got a hose and was going to drain the water heater using the hose value at the base of the water heater (until I could get the water turned off). I was going to run the hose from the water heater to the tub in the upstairs bathroom - when I tried to attache the hose, that part blew out and a jet stream of water started spewing out against the opposite wall. I finally got a wrench and used it to turn off the water to the heater.

When I went downstairs to the kitchen, water was still coming out of the light fixtures and there was about a 1/4" of standing water in the entire kitchen. That water went out into the dining room and out into the wood floors of the family room. Ceilings, walls, carpet....well, I think you get the picture. C was out-of-town all that week at a sales meeting, so she could only use her imagination to picture what the house looked like. By the time she got home, all the water and wet and the like was gone, so it didn't look as bad as she expected. Basically every room in our house except for our upstairs computer room, our downstairs master bedroom and master bath were effected in some way. The walls and ceiling in the kitchen as well. We won't know the full extent until 1) everything is dried out and 2) a claims person assesses the damage.

A water removal company has been out here since 10am that day trying to dry out everything. At one point, we had over 25 fans, blowers and dehumidifiers in the house. Plus, these weird looking floor-mats that are all over the wood floors sucking the water out from under them. The new paint job we had done a year ago in most of indoors - ruined probably. The new floor we had just put in the week before in the upstairs bathroom - too soon to tell. C mandated that we had to get a tank-less water heater installed - I don't want to get into how much that cost (while our insurance will cover damages from the water, they won't cover the cost to replace the thing that caused it).

The insurance claims person comes out Friday to assess the damage and start the process of repairs/replacement. C and I are getting geared up for that fight. Hopefully it won't be as I expect it will be. Supposedly State Farm (our insurance) is #1 in customer satisfaction. We'll see...

Re: Big TV's

Yes, we have a 42" HDTV. We've had it since 2002. Ours is a LCD. We have been talking about getting another one and in talking to people about the plasma/LCD argument, most agree that the picture on plasma is better, but over time images "burn" into the screen. That doesn't sound good to me, so I think we'll go LCD again.

And yes, I watch my Hogs in HD - when they win, it seems even sweeter. When they lose (as they did last week), it's doesn't seem as bad.....

Big TVs

I know Michael has taken the plunge and suspect LJ watches his Hogs on HDTV. Any thoughts on LCD v. Plasma?

Longhorns starting to look like Cowboys

This is getting out of hand. From the Daily Texan:

The Texas football team took another legal hit Tuesday when news broke that the second Longhorn in a week's time was arrested and suspended indefinitely.
…

He's the seventh Longhorn arrested in less than four months, including two on felony charges.

Why we're there

Michael Totten gives me hope.

Thanks, HH, for the heads up.

Plastic surgery and vision correction procedures

Isn’t it true that the cost of many plastic surgeries and the various vision correction procedures have gone down a great deal over the last 10 years? Anybody have a source?

ISI Civics Quiz

Could have been worse. I took the Intercollegiate Studies Institute Civics Quiz and got a 90%, answering 54 of 60 correctly. Missed #13 because I misread the question and missed #18 because I’m an idiot.

Update: I did get lucky on a couple of the answers.

Governor Haircut

A Rudy VP possibility?

Dehumidifier

Bought one last night...have pulled an astounding, to me at least, 5 gallons of water out the air so far.

Samuel L. Jackson line...

There is a sports radio station here that is playing a line from a movie as a bumper that I'm pretty sure is Mr. Jackson. The line is, "I don't like you because you're trying to get me killed!"

Anybody know what that's from?

Will on Fred

Fred = New Coke:

New Coke was announced on April 23, 1985, with the company's president piling on adjectives usually reserved for Lafite Rothschild -- "smoother, rounder yet bolder." Almost 80 days later, the public having sampled it, the company pulled the product from stores. Perhaps Thompson's candidacy will last longer than New Coke did.

Duncan!

Hanson's Great Lesson of 9/11

From today's NRO:

The great lesson of September 11 was not that the jihadists ever believed that they could kill us all. Rather, they trusted that enough of the West and indeed enough of us here in America, might at the end of the day declare that we had it coming.

In this long war, that belief was — and is — far deadlier even than an unhinged murderer at the controls of an airliner.

Global Warming Alert

My roses have stopped and my camellias (they are supposed to do it in winter) are blooming. More rain this weekend and more than a year's worth in 8 months. This can't be a Texas summer.

Fred!

Announces September 6.

"law of parties"

A big death penalty debate has raged here in Texas over the death sentence of Kenneth Foster. He received this sentence based upon the state’s “law of parties”, which authorizes capital punishment for accomplices who either intended to kill or “should have anticipated” a murder.

As I understand his case, four friends “were up” for getting high and robbing some people. The last person that was robbed that night was killed. Mr. Foster was the driver and was sitting in the car, with 2 others, 90 feet away when the robbery/murder occurred.

As most of my friends know, I am VERY pro-death penalty. But I am torn with this particular case. One the one-hand, I can see where Mr. Foster can argue that he had no idea that a murder would happen. It hadn’t been talked about, it hadn’t happened during the 2 previous robberies that evening. He probably had no reason to think that it would happen with the third. He was the driver with all three – he had no gun, he didn’t rob anyone, he didn’t shoot anyone.

On the other hand, however – with a gun involved, one could argue that meant there was a possibility of someone getting shot, whether or not that was the intent. And Mr. Foster knew the shooter had the gun. And he knew he had the gun when he left the car.

I guess the key word here is “anticipated”. I haven’t seen or heard about any discussions prior to the robbery spree about shooting anyone who might fight or resist. If that had been the case, then I would say a person could have or should have “anticipated” the shooting, therefore I would be OK with the sentence. But since it seems no such conversations took place, then I think there is a degree of doubt as to what could have been “anticipated”.

Yesterday, Governor Perry commuted Mr. Foster’s sentence to life, following an overwhelming recommendation to do so by the Texas Parole Board. All in all, probably the right thing to do.

Re: Football season is upon us

LJ echoes many of his previously posted sentiments. He must be serious about the I-45 rivalry.

No Reservations

This is really embarrassing. Saw the movie No Reservations today. Maybe the best chick-flick I've ever seen. Happy ending, of course, but I bet I teared up no less than five times.

I really dislike Mrs. Michael Douglas but she was quite good and looked like a real person instead of all Hollywood glam.

Aaron Eckhart has been a favorite since Thank You For Smoking. I hope this will lead to a step up in his career.

Football season is upon us

My favorite time of the year is finally here. It signals the end of the heat and the beginning of cool. The changing of seasons. And most importantly, football!!

Saturdays in the fall spent in front of the TV...from 9am (ESPN Gameday) until I fall asleep...nothing but football.

Yesterday one could have watched 2 high school games, a couple of college games and pre-season NFL games. The highlight of which was the Texans victory over the Cowboys. Yes, it was only pre-season. But ANY win over that hated team from the north end of I-45 is a great one. Especially when you have to live in Dallas and listen/read to Cowboy talk all the time. And yes, the media here have already penciled in "the 'Boys" for the Super Bowl.....after only 2 pres-season games.

GO HOGS!!
GO TEXANS!!!

For Michael

Jonah almost blew it on the "begs the question" issue, but he recovered. It is late in the discussion so it's probably not worth the listen.

another thought about Dad (really about Mom)

I've come to the conclusion that if there is any chance that one will go quickly, going Home at home is overrated. Dad would have been in the living room...the room one first sees on entering Mom's house. I'm glad that Dad's passing will not be thing of which she thinks when she enters her house.

Well, I should have seen this coming...

Dad had some kind of heart event over the weekend. Not much was getting better so I drove back to Athens last night.

Got there late and discovered my two aunts/cousins were there (Dad's brother and his brother's wife were killed in a car wreck before I was born and Dad's parents adopted the two surviving daughters.) I hadn't seen them since the death of Dad's mom. They looked a lot different after almost 20 years but if either or both had snuck up behind me and said, "Hi, Scott," I'd've recognized their voices immediately.

So, all four of his children and his two sisters and wife were with him today. His breathing pretty labored...mask on all the time. Arrangements made for hospice care at home.... I spent the day in funeral homes; that is not very fun though I found the procedure much less ugly than I suspected.

Reported the results to my sisters...his sisters and my brother having returned home thinking all the arrangements were made. Mom had rearranged a hair appointment to today thinking tomorrow, Friday and the weekend were going to be moving days for Dad.

I jumped in the truck and drove the 4 hours back to Austin. Got home about 30 minutes ago and sure enough, Dad was mercifully taken into the arms of G-d while I drove home. I'll return to Athens tomorrow. After seeing him struggle to breathe today, I'm primarily relieved. I'm also selfishly relieved for Mom...she would not have been equipped for him at home...even with "Visiting Angels" and hospice care.

Saving Grace II

Big fat juicy UT connection tonight. Grace has had a, er, uh, relationship with one of her fellow detectives...a former UT quarterback.

More Dad

Some kind of heart event late Saturday night or early Sunday morning. For the first time he is in pain and requires morphine.

This for a guy whose orthopedist said he couldn't believe Dad could possibly have been walking on the stumps of bone that came together at his knee before the his knee replacement...must be some kind of pain now.

Feeding tube put in his stomach this morning but won't be fed until tomorrow. He's down to about 150 llb.

Looks like hospice care at home coming in the very near term.

Sorry for the morbid commentary but since I can't talk to him, this is my only other outlet besides my mom and sibs.

Re: A man of integrity

From Michael's post:

"I've never taken advantage of anybody," he said.

Noooo, never. No audited financials? What about those options?

A man of integrity

Now here's a guy I could do business with: "'[He] acknowledged that bondholders have a right to play hardball, but he doesn't think they should.

That's not, he said, how he does business.

'I've never taken advantage of anybody,' he said."

Dallas and Dennis Miller

Dennis Miller salutes (about 10 minutes in) Rochester (WYSL) and Dallas (KSKY)…big ratings.

Re: Amtrak

K-Lo echoes Scooter.

More Dad (and Mom)

Hard day today as they denied him water because of choking possibilities. Mom ultimately insisted and he drank some water with no repercussions. She just can't deny him water.

35W Bridge Disaster

Lileks is ok; hope Stephanie is, too.

Pardn me boy, ish that the Catanoogy Sho-Sho?

Amtrak is offering $100 in liquor to certain passengers.

What will be the first lawsuit?

More Ethanol Krep

Thanks to Kudlow for linking to this article at the Corner. From JEFF GOODELL at The Rolling Stone site:

Midwest farmers will get rich, the air will be cleaner, the planet will be cooler, and, best of all, we can tell those greedy sheiks to f--k off. As the king of ethanol hype, Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, put it recently, "Everything about ethanol is good, good, good."

This is not just hype -- it's dangerous, delusional bullshit. Ethanol doesn't burn cleaner than gasoline, nor is it cheaper. Our current ethanol production represents only 3.5 percent of our gasoline consumption -- yet it consumes twenty percent of the entire U.S. corn crop, causing the price of corn to double in the last two years and raising the threat of hunger in the Third World. And the increasing acreage devoted to corn for ethanol means less land for other staple crops, giving farmers in South America an incentive to carve fields out of tropical forests that help to cool the planet and stave off global warming.

[6-12-09 Update: deleted expletive to redeem my hypocrisy.]

Shariah-compliance

Got this in my email today from Financial Events International:

Understanding Islamic Finance- Conference - September 19 & 20, 2007 - Geneva - Switzerland

Contrary to common beliefs the financial world is not fully disconnected of religion or faith.

In fact, the rise of Islam oriented societies in the Middle or the Far East has led to the development of approaches that differ from the traditional ways of finance. For instance, the development of six income securities: the Islamic Sukuk.

Due to the constant revenues by oil, this asset class is growing at a very fast base. On the other hand, as the development of the system is relatively recent, capital raises in a shariah-compliant nation can be structured in many complex ways. Consequently, new ways of structuring Islamic securities are constantly developed and introduced in the market. Increasingly new corporate or sovereign sukuk are to be available.

The rules of efficient Islamic finance will be fully understood. Learning about them is the principal purpose of this conference. Among its main topics are:

Understanding the main words of Islamic finance: Riba, Gharar, Maysir, Mudarabah, Musharakah, Murabahah, Istinah, Salam, Ijarah, Sanduq.

Legal and tax considerations for the Islamic capital market

Step by step comparison between sukuk and traditional securities including conventional bonds and asset-backed securities.

How to choose the most suitable mode of Islamic housing finance

How to convert conventional real estate into Shariah-compliant transactions

How to assess risk and enhance credit in real estate sukuk

How to differentiate Islamic REIT's from ordinary real estate funds and sukuk

What are the basic principles of international contracts in shariah (aptitude, consent, alliance, word commitment, permissivity and variability/reality)

Understanding the shariah named financing contract (musharakah, murabahah, muzakha, salam, leasing)

How to share and exchange loan international contracts

Understanding structured hybrid Islamic financial contracts

Assessing the kind of risk Islamic banks are exposed to

How to look to shariah in extrinsic technique of risk management

Understanding the relationship between Basel II, its three pillars andthe Islamic banking corporations

Understanding the shariah and fiqh

How to develop new financial products in order to obtain shariah compliances

What are the different principles governing Islamic finance

Many other topics will also be approached during this conference to get a full and accurate picture of the Islamic finance.

Hate to say it but I found it a bit disturbing.

There was a time when I hated this guy: Bill Walsh, RIP

Hall of Fame coach Bill Walsh, who won three Super Bowls with the 49ers, dead at 75.

Re: SLIME in the ice machine

For those of you who don't know who he was, think Best Little Whorehouse in Texas. From the article to which LJ linked:

Though he was proudest of his work championing "the little guy" and helping secure medical care for needy children, he was best known for stories he did a mere seven months after starting the job in 1973 that led to the closing of the state's best-known "bawdy house," as Zindler called it — a notorious La Grange brothel known as the Chicken Ranch.

New City Journal out...

Got it a couple of weeks ago. As they usually do, they start trickling the articles out on-line after the dead tree version hits the post office. Several great articles now available here.

Dalrymple's on Tony Blair is particularly interesting. It describes TB as, "...morally and possibly financially corrupt, shallow and egotistical, a man who combined the qualities of Elmer Gantry with those of Juan Domingo Perón."

Yikes.

SLIME in the ice machine.....

A Houston TV legend is gone....I loved watching him on Channel 13.

Mom and Sibs

I can't ignore what toll these events are taking on them.

Dad is now on an anti-depressant that is causing him to want to just sleep more than anything else. Mom is seeing this as Dad taking a big turn for the worse. We try to explain that even with completely otherwise healthy individuals this would be the result as the body adjusts to the drug. (She'll get that eventually though that was part of my unspoken objection to administering the drug...what if he'd prefer to being fully aware?) We visited before going to church this morning after breakfast and it was clear all he wanted to do was go to sleep. Mom left sobbing and it was left to me to provide comfort as I pursued her out of the room. As LJ and Michael can attest, this is not my strong suit...emotional availability, even to the one person who loves me more unconditionally than anyone save G-d. Still, I was able to put my arm around her and mumble something that quieted her...hopefully something of comfort and not just something stifling her sobs. For such a woman who adopted me as an infant and treated my like her very own and loves me like she does, why is it so difficult for me to be more comforting? Yes, she can push my buttons like no other, however subconsciously that might be but she deserves better from me.

Back to the drug; I have really mixed feelings about this. So far I've been overruled in my belief that Dad should be fully apprised of his condition, the theory being that what is the benefit to him if he wakes every morning only to wonder, "Will this is be the day I die?" I understand that from an emotional/comfort argument the medication makes sense, but what if he doesn't realize these will be the last days that he has to say something to his wife, children or G-d? I probably underestimate him greatly. He probably has to already knows.

The elder of my two younger sisters informed me that the prognosis is more likely a max of three months, not six, contrary to my previous post.

As for the sibs, two of the three were there this weekend. Baby sister in Montana with her husband's family and her four children on a long planned trip...available to return on a moment's notice. (What about my trip to Alberta for fly fishing at the end of August?) For the first time I'm starting to see the toll this takes on them, too. Extreme efforts to be as comforting as possible to Mom and Dad. I am grateful to the three of them and to baby sister's husband as well. All three really fill the gaps that I'm incapable of filling.

Since this whole post is such a downer, I have to leave on something positive. Regarding this "facility" Dad inhabits., I couldn't be more pleasantly surprised. No, it is not a high dollar facility where fortunes are spent to have oneself pampered as life's end nears. It is a pretty basic nursing facility in a small town in East Texas. Still, Dad's primary caretaker apart from genuine nursing or medicine has been a short, though robust 60 year old woman who has taken her job seriously for more than 40 years...making Dad as comfortable as possible while doing impossible tasks...all the while not taking any guff from Dad or anyone else. For that, I am grateful, too.