A sheep in wolf's clothing....

Author Harold Hough chimes in on John Kerry's dubious hunting credentials in this op/ed piece.

Fighting the evil empire....

Add the National Trust to the list of Wal-Mart's foes.

Mawwiage....

I was unable to post for a few days while Maryanne and I were out of town for Caly's (my sister) wedding. In retrospect it would have been a good opportunity to test out posting by e-mail. Hindsight is always 20/20.

Maryanne and I made the trip to Sturgeon Bay on Thursday morning after our final closing for our house. The weather was pretty good, so I tried to get part of Mom's lawn mowed before the rehearsal. I accomplished what I wanted to, and was even able to say "Hi" to Aunt Mary and Uncle David before hitting the shower.

The rehearsal went well; everyone was able to find the Bridal Chapel with little difficulty. Afterwards it was off to the Nightingale for the rehearsal dinner. It turned out to be a lot of fun.

Friday were were mostly left to our own devices. Maryanne had an appointment for a manicure, so she and Mom drove in to town, and I took care of some other things around the house. Later the three of us met up with Aunt Mary, Uncle David, and Grandma A for dinner, then shared an after-dinner drink with Craig and Cynthia. Maryanne and I later met up with Adam, Sammie, and Jesse to hang out for a bit.

Things weren't looking too good Saturday morning, though as the weather was generally dismal-- the skies were overcast, and it had drizzled throughout the morning. Things cleared just in time to warm things up a bit for the preceremony photos, and then we made our way to the Bridal Chapel again for the ceremony. It went smoothly and quickly, and after some more photos we made our way to Stone Harbor. Caly had made arrangements with Carriages of Door County to get three carriages at Stone Harbor for the wedding party and families to ride to Leathem-Smith Lodge. The ride was fun, if a bit on the cool side.

Things were a bit chaotic upon our arrival. Guests were still arriving, and there was a tremendous hassle with the seating arrangements because someone with Leathem-Smith Lodge failed to follow directions. Everything got worked out though, and it turned in to a fun evening. It was nice to catch up with some people that I had not seen since my own wedding, and some people I hadn't seen for much longer.

The end of the evening brought its own frustrations as we tried to figure out the logistics of getting to our hotel room at Bridgeport, complicated by the fact that Mom's car was still there. We finally got it taken care of, though, but when the gift opening rolled around on Sunday, we were still exhausted. Unfortunately, Maryanne and I will have little time to recover this week, as we finish moving out of our old townhouse.

Throughout the weekend I thought of Dad's absence. There were reminders everywhere. Caly had included some words in her program, and had also chosen for one of her readings a passage written by Kahlil Gibran, an author whose appreciation we both learned from Dad. Aunt Mary passed on the necklace that Dad had given her for her 16th birthday. Caly had done me the honor of walking her down the aisle along with Mom, and later at the reception, dancing with her, in place of the father-daughter dance. I told her then that one of the first things I thought of when Dad passed away a year and a half ago was that he wouldn't be able to be there for her wedding. Later I danced with Mom, and she also mentioned how much she misses him. I know we all do.

Film at eleven....

Popular Mechanics chimes in and takes a shot at TV news anchors.

You're our only hope....

Can Starwars Episode III be saved? Christopher Bahn shares his ideas on MSNBC.

Intestinal fortitude....

Check out this interesting op/ed piece from Mark Holmberg of the Richmond (VA) Times Dispatch.

Dark and light....

Last week I was able to finish reading Bram Stoker's Dracula. I thoroughly enjoyed it, though for some reason found the ending a little less climactic than I had hoped.

Thus, today I started on Ben-Hur by Lew Wallace. Wallace's writing style thus far is a little long-winded, but some of the theological ideas presented so far have alone been worth the time.

Cheesy....

Here's some info on the forthcoming new Leisure Suit Larry game.

By the numbers....

Check out this handy list of why gun bans don't work.

Oh say, can you see!

This guy's got a lot to sing about, and not because he sounds a little like Darius Rucker.

A few moms short....

The National Review also chimes in on the "Million Mom March" courtesy of Daniel J. Flynn.

A double standard....

Here's another reason I'll never live in Illinois, especially Chicago.

No substance or style....

I dropped "The Big Picture" comic strip from my comics page, along with some other strips. The other strips I dropped hadn't been updated since I added them. The reason I dropped "The Big Picture," though, was because it had really stopped being funny. Now, before you get on my case about not all comic strips being funny, let me explain. I'm really not sure what "The Big Picture" was supposed to be in the first place, other than a sounding board for its artist, Lennie Peterson. While that still isn't a problem, it became increasingly offensive and less entertaining to me. The final straw was Peterson's attitude regarding people who would e-mail him disagreeing with his opinions: he called them "stoopid."

I seem to remember an expression something to the effect of "Why offend people with style when you can offend them with substance?" Well, "The Big Picture" lacks both, but most importantly, it started lacking substance a long time ago.

Bring out the gimp....

Sunday's "Million Mom March" was more of a limp.

Movin'....

A truly exhausting weekend began Thursday as I prepared for our big move into our new house. I finished the painting, and got things cleaned up just in time for the cable guy to hook up the cable. It was then off to the town house to get showered for the concert that evening: Aerosmith, with Cheap Trick opening. It was a good show, and piqued my curiosity regarding Aerosmith's new album, Honkin' on Bobo. The only downside is that the Kohl Center is not a good place to hold a concert; the acoustics were terrible. I really could have used a set of earplugs.

Friday, then, was the big move, and as Caly and Jim were in town for the concert, they stayed for a while to help us. We also had some help from Jenni, and from Maryanne's dad, Jim. We were able to make two big trips before reaching the point of needing to get stuff put away before we could move anything more. We finally got sick of things just in time to head over to Narf and Pauline's for what turned out to be a birthday dinner for me.

Saturday it was more of the same, with Maryanne's coworker Sue helping us this time. The weather was inconsistent, so we weren't able to use the truck. We filled Maryanne's car and Sue's car, and then went back to make one more trip with Maryanne's car. We went to Sears to buy a lawn mower; that's a story in itself! Later we grabbed some dinner from New Orleans Take Out. Much of the remainder of the day was spent unpacking and putting things away, especially in the kitchen.

Yesterday, Sunday, we loaded a few things into Maryanne's car as were were again expecting inclement weather. Afterwards we took a trip to Target and a trip to Menard's to get some sundries for our new house. After unloading the car, we spent more time again unpacking before Helen and Jim picked us up so we could take Helen to Laredo's for a Mother's Day dinner. Maryanne and I then did some grocery shopping before heading back to Stoughton for yet more unpacking.

In a way it's nice to be back at work so we don't have to pack and unpack. We have a lot to do yet, though, but it's getting to the point where I just want to throw things in boxes so we can start cleaning.

Socially mature....

Earlier this week I was finally able to finish David Copperfield. Whew!

Coincidentally, about a week and a half ago, Maryanne and I helped Narf and Pauline move. After calling it quits for the day, we were able to relax and have some conversation. That conversation turned to highschool English classes. Pauline mentioned her revulsion over the graphic scenes of All Quiet on the Western Front, and the conversation eventually turned to Charles Dickens.

Pauline remarked that highschool students usually aren't socially mature enough to handle Dickens, and considering the only Dickens I had read in high school was Great Expectations as a freshman, that was probably correct. Fast forward several years, and here I am having completed not only David Copperfield, but The Old Curiosity Shop as well. Being (presumably) more socially mature, I'm better able to see Dickens' social commentary interwoven in his tales. While his dialog doesn't seem very natural by today's standards, his characters are so vivid that you inevitably find yourself rooting for the protagonist. Fortunately, his work usually has a happy ending, if by degrees, that makes reading his books enjoyable. I'm at least able to feel that way now without overanalyzing the story.

I've begun reading Bram Stoker's Dracula, and find myself thinking of the 1992 film version featuring the direction of Francis Ford Coppola and a top rate cast. I'll probably revisit it at some point, but I think I'll wait until I'm done with the book.

The book, so far, has seemed to do a better job of being creepy, as in the case of Renfield, and depicting the feeling of futility that Jonathan Harker experiences.

I'm looking forward to reading the rest of it.

Retro chic....

I've come to the conclusion that the people at Food Fight, Inc., the owners of several restaurants in the Madison area, including Monty's Blue Plate Diner and Delmonico's, have a penchant for the retro. Delmonico's and and Monty's both feature art deco decor, the former being swanky and the the latter being delightfully colorful. It turns out they also own the Hubbard Avenue Diner in Middleton, which also features the same delightful WWII-era art deco style, even when just seen from the outside. While browsing their website I found similar styles in some of their other restaurants, though some of the decor could be said to be Arts & Crafts influenced.

Checks and balances....

In a way, I'm glad Maryanne and I are moving out of Madison because of things like this. Leave it to a bunch of power-grabbing, bleeding-heart liberals to try to usurp power.

Invaded!

Maryanne and I had some company this weekend; our friends Adam and Sammie and Barret and Jenny came for a visit Saturday morning and stayed until Sunday afternoon. It was a pleasant weekend; next time some kind of itinerary would be in order, though. The weather was beautiful Saturday. We had lunch at Monty's Blue Plate Diner, then decided to check out the Celebrate Madison festival at the Monona Terrace. It seemed a bit disorganized, but we got to try some bocce. As were were leaving a bunch of demonstrators showed up, carrying signs about peace. We discovered they were a bunch of Socialists. Socialism might look good on paper, but it doesn't work too well, so while they certainly had the right to peacably demonstrate, I also didn't want to stay and listen to it.

Afterwards we decided to head to State Street. The parking ramp was insane, as the downtown area was inundated with students finishing their semester, many of which were visibly drunk. We were able to spend some time on the Memorial Union Terrace eating ice cream. We later picked up some Papa Murphy's pizzas for dinner, and I unfortunately burned the crust on one of them. We spent the evening playing Trivial Pursuit.

Sunday started off with snow, but had melted by the time we finished breakfast. Everyone departed sometime in the early afternoon, leaving Maryanne and me some time to load up my truck, and her parents' car, and take some boxes over to our new house.

Call to arms....

Members of the House of Representatives create the Congressional Second Amendment Caucus.

Interestink....

Here's a thing to make you go "Hmmm...."

What's for breakfast?

I don't know how long this will last, but it's damn amusing: John Kerry gets Google-bombed, and is now the top-rated hit when searching for "waffles."

Changing your answer....

Apparently the question as to whether the Second Amendment was an individual right or not was answered shortly after World War II. This, along with all the historical evidence, keeps me wondering why so many people even try to argue against it being an individual right.

Oil for Terror

Sadly, you probably won't be reading about this in any of your major news outlets any time soon. However, it's very much worth a look. While it remains to be seen whether or not Saddam Hussein had an weapons of mass destruction, it appears that he indeed was bankrolling terrorism, including Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda, all under the supposedly watchful eye of Kofi Annan and the U.N.

All of this makes a person wonder: If George W. Bush's reasons for going to war in Iraq are dubious, does it really matter what those reasons are now that Saddam's deposed? If so, does it matter if we compare it to John Kerry's view that we should get the U.N.'s permission for everything first, the same U.N. that was so watchful of Saddam in the first place?

Rational....

For any of you have yet to explore James Lileks website, here's a good place to start. He's got a variety of interesting material, but his blog, which he calls The Bleat, is always interesting. He seems to be politically independent, spiritual without being religiously dogmatic, and intelligent. I enjoy reading his material. I don't always agree with what he has to say regarding some topics (though I happen to agree this time), but, unlike some other sources, he has such a clear, intelligent, rational way of presenting his opinion that I find I can't begrudge him when his opinion differs.

Spring....

Spring is upon us... but it seems to be a sort of incongruous spring for some reason. Perhaps it's just me, or perhaps it's just from not being quite used to South-central Wisconsin yet. Some trees are budding, while others are not, and a few flowering shrubs are blooming. The daffodils are starting to bloom, and the tulips are finally starting to bud as well. Perhaps things seem unusual due to a lack of the familiar spring sights I'm used to: trilliums, wood violets, and marsh marigolds.

Friday was a truly beautiful day -- the high reached 81° F at least. I was very fortunate to have the day off, but spent much of the day running errands or doing housework in preparation of our move. Saturday was a fine day as well, though I had to work in the morning. Maryanne and I spent the afternoon running some additional errands, and it was quite a pleasant day.

Sunday was another matter. The day started well enough, but quickly headed downhill as the remnants of a storm moved through, bringing with it a lot of wind, but very little in the way of much-needed rain.

Progress....

It's a shame we don't hear about this kind of thing on the news.

Istanbul not Constantinople

Easter miracle: Pope John Paul II apologizes for the Catholic Church's involvement in the sacking of Constantinople on April 13, 1204.  I'm sure Maryanne will have something to say about this.

Satire....

After making quick work of Dave Barry's Bad Habits and Jules Verne's Around the World in 80 Days, I started on Mark Twain's A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court. It was a slow start, and I was initially a bit put-off by the irreverence of the satire. I've read Mark Twain before, but little had prepared me for what this book would hold: biting satire, a variety of humor, a scathing view of the Catholic Church, and some truly heart-wrenching tableaus. It was hard dealing with a work that treated King Arthur so poorly, while other works I had read held him in such high regard.

Nonetheless I enjoyed it, though it's now making me debate whether I should reread T.H. White's The Once and Future King. I'll probably move on to something unread, instead.

"'Patriot' Games"

A fight could be brewing over the fate of the Patriot Act.

Use both hands....

You hardly ever hear about this kind of thing in the news.

History....

I found this interesting.

Over-priced....

It's been a while since I posted about that hotbed of unrest known as Carroll College.

"Lying for Dollars"

Caught in the act! The Brady Campaign is a bunch of lying liars.

Priorities....

Here's yet another reason not to live in California.

Vexations....

The past several mornings at work, while not hellish, have certainly been demanding. Something, certainly the result of a lack of foresight by someone, has been causing (painfully) slow login issues for a multitude of users. As a help desk analyst, I'm very frustrated by this. My job is to help people after all. It's, shall we say, vexing, when it seems that someone else's lack of preparation or planning makes matters worse by creating more problems than we already have.

Card-carrying member....

Here is an interesting op/ed piece from Mike S. Adams about why he joined the N.R.A.

Disarmed....

Here is yet another reason why I'll never live in Illinois.

Domestic terror....

James Swan offers some sound advice for dealing with what he terms "animal rights 'humaniacs.'"

Killing the dead....

Apparently vampires are still a problem in Romania. And since civilians have taken matters into their own hands, the police have become involved.

"And in the middle of negotiations...."

Maryanne and I have negotiated an offer on the house we looked at in Stoughton, and if all goes well, we'll be closing on April 30. Maryanne is so excited I can hardly stand it; I'm a little more subdued, to say the least. We'll have to see how the whole home-ownership thing goes.

Crikey!

Friday night, after a trip to Stoughton to look at a house, Maryanne and I returned to Madison and went to Outback for dinner. Neither one of us had ever been to one before, so we decided to give it a try. When we arrived there was over an hour wait to be seated, but we decided to wait. We were glad that we did. The food was excellent and the service spectacular. Our waiter, Jimmy, was friendly and checked on us frequently. Our dinners came with soup, and sometime after Jimmy had cleared the bowls, he said our food would be out in a minute and a half. It was probably ten minutes more before Jimmy returned, this time to apologize for our food taking so long, and asking if the manager had been by to talk to us. We answered no, and he returned to the kitchen. Our food arrived shortly after that.

The manager arrived sometime after we had begun eating, and made sure everything was satisfactory. We both said the food was excellent. The manager then said that she, as well as Outback in general, had very high standards, and that the amount of time that it took for our food wasn't up to those standards. She asked us to save room for dessert. Maryanne responded, "I'm not sure I'm going to finish this!" Dessert to go was offered, and the manager departed.

Jimmy returned shortly after to take our dessert orders. We had settled on cheesecake, thinking we'd be able to stick it in the freezer. Jimmy informed us they were out of cheesecake. Maryanne being visibly disappointed, he offered gift cards for dessert instead, and he left.

The manager returned next, and explained the cheesecake situation. Apparently they still had some, but it was all frozen, and she offered that. We accepted, and she went to the kitchen to get it. When she returned, she had a large to-go container with the cheesecake, and small styrofoam cups with toppings. She had given us half a cheesecake! On top of that, she gave us a gift card for a free "Bloomin' Onion."

Not once through the entire evening had we thought there was a problem, much less complained of one. Yet the staff at Outback bent over backwards to rectify a situation they thought needed remedying. While the prices were a little on the pricey side, the service we received guaranteed we'll return sometime.

Finished....

Today I was able to finish The Scarlet Letter. Hawthorne's use of language shines through in a brilliantly written story. And even if I was a little disappointed by the ending, it was still a satisfying conclusion.

What this....

Here's an interesting list of underappreciated movies worth watching.

Superficial stepping stone....

Even in the bastion of liberality known as California, there glimmers a small light of common sense. Interestingly enough, it's on the campus of USC.

The Scarlet Letter

Today I started on The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Having already read A Wonder Book, I'm familiar with Hawthorne's writing style, but it will be interesting to see what he does with an original story. I don't know how long it's going to take me to get through this one. It's a little over 200 pages, the Reader's Digest edition, featuring some illustrations that look like watercolored woodcuts. The writing flows well, though, despite Hawthorne's use of archaic language for dialog.

Which reminds me... I need to find a good copy of Tanglewood Tales!

Concession....

More op/ed goodness from John R. Lott, Jr.

Done....

Today I was able to finish Jane Austen's Emma. It was a quicker read than I thought. While portions of it were entertaining, even amusing, the rest of it smacked of the kind of "slice of life" literature that doesn't engage the reader. I hope that in its day it was a much better read, when the effects of class, social status, manners, and impropriety were more relevant than they are today. While the writing was well executed --indeed, the dialog was brilliantly executed-- it will be a long time before I pick up another Jane Austen novel.

Shenanigans....

More tasteless shenanigans from those whack-jobs at PETA.

Searchin'....

The past two nights have been spent looking at houses. We haven't found a real winner yet, but it has been an interesting process so far. It's given us a chance to see what's on the market, and what we like and dislike.

Off target....

Read this scathing op/ed piece from John R. Lott, Jr.

Happy birthday....

Today would have been Dad's 57th birthday.

Long day....

Saturday was a very busy day.

The morning began with a haircut for Maryanne and a visit to the health club. After that we returned home to get cleaned up before heading out again to meet with a realtor. It was a very productive visit.

After that we had to stop at Cara's house, so that Maryanne could pay for some Girl Scout cookies. It was a longer visit than I expected, and it eventually led to a visit at Kim's as well.

Then it was off to some scrapbooking store that was having a sale. The store was incredibly crowded, and eventually I decided I would wait outside. By this time it was almost four o'clock, and we were finally able to have the lunch we had talked about three hours earlier. We went to Denny's, and the service was quite pokey. After we were done there we went to another scrapbook store at the much-lauded Greenway Station. I must admit that by this time I was loosing interest in the scrapbooking thing.

Our next stop redeemed things as we stopped at Half Price Books, where I was able to sell a few things as well as pick up a few things. We still needed to do our grocery shopping on the way home, so after a stop at Woodman's we finally got home around 7:30.

It was an exhausting day, and thus we declined an invitation to meet some people downtown.

Conspiracy....

Democratic Senators may have schemed to purposely delay U.S. Circuit Court nominations, perhaps with the intent of affecting the outcomes of certain cases.

A long slog ahead....

After breezing through Dave Barry's Guide to Life, an omnibus of four smaller books, I have decided to start on Jane Austen's Emma. It's the Everyman's Library edition, and weighs in at 495 pages. It may take me a while to get through this one.

The white stuff....

It's astonishing how some snow can turn Madison's already moronic drivers into bigger dumbasses than usual.

Asking for it....

I was wondering if something like this was ever going to happen.

Geeky....

Saturday was this month's Dungeons & Dragons day. We originally scheduled for four o'clock due to a previous commitment that Jenni had, but she basically ditched it and we were able to start a little early.

I was DMing the group through The Sunless Citadel, and we had to complete the second half. I recapped the first half, and off we went. The second half has more combat, so there wasn't a good place to stop and pause for dinner. We didn't eat until around eleven. Not our latest night, by far, but still a late night.

It's good to be able to do some roleplaying on a regular basis. I'm adjusting to the 3rd Edition rules as we go along. Maryanne is becoming more enthusiastic as we go along, as well. I hope that trend continues.

Next on the list will be The Forge of Fury for April. And trying to get everyone up to speed and modify things to fit my campaign world. That may prove to be a bit of a challenge.

Whack-jobs....

This is probably the most disturbing picture you'll see today, courtesy, of course, of the whack-jobs at PETA.

Knight errantry....

I was able to finish Don Quixote today. It was not a quick read by any stretch of the imagination, being over a thousand pages. Nonetheless, it was very good. The translation was as faithful as possible while still making sense in English; there were some 17th-century Spanish idioms that would not have translated well. It was very entertaining, being amusing as well as moving. For anyone who's been wondering about tackling it, I recommend giving it a try.

The Grave Digger....

It's probably old news by now that Gilbert Brown was cut by the Packers recently. He certainly wasn't the most versatile player, but he did what he did, and giving it his best, did it well. Throughout his tenure in the NFL he was extremely faithful to the Packers, something I greatly admire.

Victimized again....

This gives me a nice warm, fuzzy feeling about Madison police.

Armed and responsible....

Now why can't we get Wisconsin to do this?

Evil incarnate....

If you support the Second Amendment, you should read this. Have I ever mentioned I hate Dianne Feinstein?

Doctors recommend....

Here is an interesting Op/Ed piece on the issue of concealed-carry, written by a doctor.

"Meet the heartland...."

This is an interesting read.

Narnia on film....

I'll want to read the books first, and then hope Disney doesn't fuck it all up somehow.

Oy....

If The Passion of the Christ has you down, this might help lighten things up.

A different story....

On Sunday, Maryanne and I went with some friends to see The Passion of the Christ, the somewhat controversial film by Mel Gibson. After seeing the movie, I can see why some people would get themselves worked up over it, but would also add that those people probably wouldn't be very rational to begin with. The only way I see this movie causing feelings of anti-Semitism is if a person is already predisposed to be so.

The movie is rather graphic. But as I told Maryanne, and later Amy, it's just a dramatic, graphic representation of a story we already know.

Well, most of us know it. As it turns out, most of the people we went to the movie went weren't very familiar with the story, as demonstrated when they mentioned they wished the movie would have contained more background, so they knew what was going on. Maryanne commented that they probably didn't see the same movie she and I did. I have to agree with her.

PEBKAC....

The past few days of work have been hellish.

We started the week with some security patches being pushed out to users, patches which caused machines to lock up and our network to run slowly. We had two mornings of heavy queing on account of this.

Add to the mix the onslaught of the Netsky virus. This additional problem was compounded by (let's face facts) stupid end users. The e-mail server was bogged down by not only normal mail and the mail generated by the virus itself, but by end users e-mailing each other basically asking "What did you send me? Why did you send me this?"

It's been a real case of PEBKAC.

Because of this, we're being asked to come in an hour early tomorrow. Thirty minutes definitely would not bother me. But when you're talking an hour, some comp. time would be appreciated. Unfortunately, there are no guarantees.

Nothing brightens my afternoon like being asked to work an extra hour with nothing in recompense for it.

New and "improved...."

This article was pretty interesting. I find it a little unnerving, though, that some of history's greatest writers fare so poorly when judged against the test's criteria.

I'm glad Wisconsin prefers the ACT.

Litigious....

Read this, and then contact your senator and urge him or her to support S. 1805.

Irony....

This is pretty ironic.

And I'm linking to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel because the Madison-based Capitol Times sucks.

Now entering geekdom....

On Saturday Maryanne and I invited some friends over, Jenni and Jeff, and Eric and Tina. The six of us entered the world of geekdom and started a Dungeons & Dragons campaign. Laying all the small talk aside and taking care of last minute details relatively early, we were able to play for about eight hours straight, with maybe an hour total of breaks in between.

When all was said and done and our guests had left, Maryanne looked at me and said, "If I tell you something, do you promise not to be...." It sounded like she was reluctant to say something. She finished the sentence: "...surprised?"

"Sure," I replied.

"I had a lot of fun tonight."

I was glad she had fun, and finally had a good experience with D&D, even though she was a little ashamed to admit it. As she keeps saying, I'll turn her into a geek yet.

Gnarly!

Take the 80's Lyrics Quiz. I scored 94 on my first run through.

Burnination....

Burnination strikes at the campus of the University of South Carolina. Trogdor wins as write-in for Preston Hall first-floor representative.

Man of La Mancha....

I started reading Cervantes' Don Quixote late last week. It's the Motteux translation, and Knopf's Everyman's Library edition. It's been a slow read so far.

Comments....

Comments have returned, this time hosted by HaloScan. They seem much more stable and professional, and I probably should have picked them from the beginning. I'm hoping they're more reliable than the previous two attempts.

Bizarre....

This is pretty bizarre, even for the whack-jobs at PETA.

Lacking credentials....

Things heat up in the Sturgeon Bay mayoral race when the incumbent is forced to come clean.

We have a winner!

A Green Bay girl finds one of the Great ColorQuest M&M contest bags and wins $20,000 and a Volkswagen Beetle.

Done already?

The Jungle Book was indeed a quick read. I should have brought something else with me.

Sneaky....

Another whack-job drought ends as PETA makes the news again, this time in a flap over the Atkins diet. Remember to eat more meat.

Nameless....

I finished reading Stephen Crane's The Red Badge of Courage yesterday. It was a quick read, being around 170 pages or so, and since it was a Reader's Digest edition, it was illustrated. It was good, but unusual in that the author did not refer to the characters by their names.

Today I started on Rudyard Kiplings The Jungle Book. It's the Everyman's Library edition, and illustrated. I also expect it to be a quick read.

"Nobody's fault but mine...."

Wisconsin law-makers eye making people take responsibility for their own actions instead of being able to blame fast food chains and other restaurants.

Knobs is one....

A Washington-state 3rd grade teacher uses cribbage to teach her students better mental math skills. I wonder if any of the kids has gotten the 29-point hand?

The nerve!

Boston-area resident Bob Adams uses his Second Amendment rights to defend himself against an intruder. Now the intruder's lawyer says Adams should be charged.

Boosting morale....

I'm glad to know this is happening year round, and not just during the holidays.

Offshore no more....

It looks like Colorado isn't the only one interested in keeping jobs from heading overseas.

My dog's smarter than your dog....

See how your dog ranks on this list of dog breeds ranked by intelligence and obedience.

Fun for the whole family....

Film critic Peter M. Nichols looks beyond Disney for movies that are good for the whole family, including children. Read more here.

Ironic....

Showing the true meaning of irony, the Statue of Libery is the only national monument that has not reopened since September 11, 2001.

Call me gimpy....

Maryanne and I arrived home last night from our trip to Fresno, California. It was a pleasant but exhausting weekend. My only regret is that we weren't able to do more because of some tendonitis above my right ankle.

Once Maryanne gets a real blog going on her website I'm sure she'll have some news, maybe even some pictures, of our adventures.

No comment....

The third-party host for the commenting on this site is officially dead now. My apologies to all who left comments here.

I'm reluctant to switch to the other host I had tried for fear of problems with it, as well. Until I find an alternative, we may be without comments for a while.

The ends may justify the means....

I received this item in my e-mail some time ago. I was a little wary of it, in light of all the urban legends and hoaxes that circulate around the internet. After checking Snopes a couple of times, I'm currently leaning toward its being authentic. If that is indeed the case, it is certainly thought-provoking.


From: Seitz LtCol Scot S
Sent: Tuesday, December 02, 2003 8:40 AM
To: 1MAW MWSS171 All Personnel
Cc: Fenstermacher Col Stephen M; Kirkpatrick LtCol Stephen F; Chase
LtCol Eric T
Subject: ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Marines and Sailors,

As we approach the end of the year I think it is important
to share a few thoughts about what you've accomplished directly,
in some cases, and indirectly in many others. I am speaking about
what the Bush Administration and each of you has contributed by wearing
the uniform, because the fact that you wear the uniform contributes
100% to the capability of the nation to send a few onto the field to
execute national policy. As you read about these achievements you are
a part of , I would call your attention to two things:

1. This is good news that hasn't been fit to print or report on TV.
2. It is much easier to point out the errors a man makes when he makes
the tough decisions, rarely is the positive as aggressively pursued.

Since President Bush declared an end to major combat on May 1...

... the first battalion of the new Iraqi Army has graduated and is on active
duty.

... over 60,000 Iraqis now provide security to their fellow citizens.

... nearly all of Iraq's 400 courts are functioning.

... the Iraqi judiciary is fully independent.

... on Monday, October 6 power generation hit 4,518 megawatts-exceeding the
prewar average.

... all 22 universities and 43 technical institutes and colleges are open,
as are nearly all primary and secondary schools.

... by October 1, Coalition forces had rehab-ed over 1,500 schools - 500
more than scheduled.

... teachers earn from 12 to 25 times their former salaries.

... all 240 hospitals and more than 1200 clinics are open.

... doctors salaries are at least eight times what they were under Saddam.

... pharmaceutical distribution has gone from essentially nothing to 700
tons in May to a current total of 12,000 tons.

... the Coalition has helped administer over 22 million vaccinations to
Iraq's children.

... a Coalition program has cleared over 14,000 kilometers of Iraq's 27,000
kilometers of weed-choked canals which now irrigate tens of thousands of
farms. This project has created jobs for more than 100,000 Iraqi men and
women.

... we have restored over three-quarters of prewar telephone services and
over two-thirds of the potable water production.

... there are 4,900 full-service telephone connections. We expect 50,000 by
year-end.

... the wheels of commerce are turning. From bicycles to satellite dishes
to cars and trucks, businesses are coming to life in all major cities and
towns.

... 95 percent of all prewar bank customers have service and first-time
customers are opening accounts daily.

... Iraqi banks are making loans to finance businesses.

... the central bank is fully independent.

... Iraq has one of the worlds most growth-oriented investment and banking
laws.

... Iraq has a single, unified currency for the first time in 15 years.

... satellite TV dishes are legal.

... foreign journalists aren't on 10-day visas paying mandatory and
extortionate fees to the Ministry of Information for "minders" and other
government spies.

... there is no Ministry of Information.

... there are more than 170 newspapers.

... you can buy satellite dishes on what seems like every street corner.

... foreign journalists (and everyone else) are free to come and go.

... a nation that had not one single element - legislative, judicial or
executive - of a representative government, now does.

... in Baghdad alone residents have selected 88 advisory councils.
Baghdad's first democratic transfer of power in 35 years happened when the
city council elected its new chairman.

... today in Iraq chambers of commerce, business, school and professional
organizations are electing their leaders all over the country.

... 25 ministers, selected by the most representative governing body in
Iraq's history, run the day-to-day business of government.

... the Iraqi government regularly participates in international events.
Since July the Iraqi government has been represented in over two dozen
international meetings, including those of the UN General Assembly, the Arab
League, the World Bank and IMF and, today, the Islamic Conference Summit.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs today announced that it is reopening over 30
Iraqi embassies around the world.

... Shia religious festivals that were all but banned, aren't.

... for the first time in 35 years, in Karbala thousands of Shiites
celebrate the pilgrimage of the 12th Imam.

... the Coalition has completed over 13,000 reconstruction projects, large
and small, as part of a strategic plan for the reconstruction of Iraq.

... Uday and Queasy are dead - and no longer feeding innocent Iraqis to the
zoo lions, raping the young daughters of local leaders to force cooperation,
torturing Iraq's soccer players for losing games, or murdering critics.

... children aren't imprisoned or murdered when their parents disagree with
the government.

... political opponents aren't imprisoned, tortured, executed, maimed, or
are forced to watch their families die for disagreeing with Saddam.

... millions of longsuffering Iraqis no longer live in perpetual terror.

... Saudis will hold municipal elections.

... Qatar is reforming education to give more choices to parents.

... Jordan is accelerating market economic reforms.

... the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded for the first time to an Iranian -- a
Muslim woman who speaks out with courage for human rights, for democracy and
for peace.

... Saddam is gone.

... Iraq is free.

... President Bush has not faltered or failed.

... Yet, little or none of this information has been published by the Press
corps that prides itself on bringing you all the news that's important.

Iraq under US lead control has come further in six months than Germany did
in seven years or Japan did in nine years following WWII. Military deaths
from fanatic Nazi's, and Japanese numbered in the thousands and continued
for over three years after WWII victory was declared.

It took the US over four months to clear away the twin tower debris, let
alone attempt to build something else in its place.

Now, take into account that Congress fought President Bush on every aspect
of his handling of this country's war and the post-war reconstruction; and
that they continue to claim on a daily basis on national TV that this conflict
has been a failure.

Taking everything into consideration, even the unfortunate loss of our brothers
and sisters in this conflict, do you think anyone else in the world could
have accomplished as much as the United States and the Bush administration
in so short a period of time?

These are things worth writing about. Get the word out. Write to someone you
think may be able to influence our Congress or the press to tell the story.

Above all, be proud that you are a part of this historical precedent.

God Bless you all. Have a great Holiday.

Semper Fidelis,

CO

No comment....

As you can see, comments are down again. I may be seeking alternatives to third-party providers. My apologies to those who have left comments.

Not helping the issue....

It's hard for me to respond to this without seeming extremely anti-Catholic. On one hand you have Bishop Burke doing his job, doing what he's appointed to do. On the other hand you have politicians doing their jobs, doing what they're elected to do. Politics and religion rarely mix, a fact the founding fathers knew and understood well when drafting the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. While Catholic doctrine prohibits abortion and euthanasia (and I'm not here to debate those particular issues at this time), politicians have a duty to represent their constituents, and would not be doing so for long if they were to vote against those they represent.

Bishop Burke is certainly entitled to do his job as he sees fit, and to be concerned about the spiritual welfare of these politicians. However, he's certainly not doing them any favors by denying them one of the most important Christian sacraments, a sacrament recognized by all Christian denominations.

Downhill....

On January 5, William Bunch, columnist for the the Philadelphia Daily News, wrote this column in anticipation of Sunday's NFL Divisional playoff game in which the Packers visit the Eagles. It was tongue-in-cheek, of course, featuring some good-natured if biting ribbing. Tom Perry, of the Green Bay Press-Gazette responded in like fashion with his own column. Sadly, senses of humor were lacking all around, as exhibited by these e-mails sent to Perry by readers of the PDN. Perry did his best to smooth things over with humor in this latest attempt. An article from the GBPG chronicles the rapid degeneration of what should have been a friendly exchange of trash-talk.

Alert! Alert!

Do you ever wonder what the current terror level is? I know I do. But I don't lose any sleep over it, because I know I can always check it out here and here.

My compass is broken....

Check out this interesting article about Earth's magnetic field. Here comes the science.