Archive for June, 2009
An editorial cartoon from the Chicago Tribune, 1934.
The cartoon reads:
Planned Economy or Planned Destruction. Tugwell Head. Power. Whoopee! Ickes. Wallace. Richberg. Young Pinkies from Columbia and Harvard. Depleting the resources of the soundest government in the world. ‘It worked in Russia.’ Plan of action for the U.S. Spend! Spend! Spend under the guise of recovery – bust the government – blame the capitalists for the failure – Junk the constitution and decree a dictatorship. How red the sunrise is getting – Stalin. Copyright by The Chicago Tribune. Orr.
Although this is from 1934, it could readily be applied to stimulus, cap and trade, universal healthcare, and any other ridiculous legislation the hard, far left continues to craft. Seriously, these guys are kind of–no they are–socialists.
30 Jun 09
The best liar is he who makes the smallest amount of lying go the longest way.
26 Jun 09
Why Cap and Tax is the Opposite of Good
I just got done reading Historic parallels in our time: the killing of cattle -vs- carbon, and I must say, “good God, I couldn’t agree more!”
My response to that article is, that I will declare right now that I believe in the exceptionalism of Western culture and society.
25 Jun 09
Spain Upset by United States 2-0
I was able to watch a part of this game and was a little underwhelmed by the Spanish attack. They’re usually such excellent passers and good at creating chances, but the American side was able to blunt just about every effort. Way to go boys. I suspect you’ll be facing an excellent Brazilian team again. Good luck.
24 Jun 09
The major difference between a thing that might go wrong and a thing that cannot possibly go wrong is that when a thing that cannot possibly go wrong goes wrong it usually turns out to be impossible to get at or repair.
I picked up my ACL brace last Friday and put it to the test over the weekend. I’m happy to say that for the most part the wait and frustration was definitely…sort of…worth it. I mean, it’s a knee brace, right? It’s not exactly comfortable.
For the most part, the brace fits fairly well being of the off the shelf variety. The one real worry I have in this department is the eventual increase in size of the affected quad. It’s smaller than my right leg at the moment, and the difference is quite visible. I expect it to increase considerably here in the next three months, and I hope the brace will continue to fit comfortably.
I’m a little stunned by the final cost of this thing, as billed by the supplier. The brace was about $916. I looked online, prior to seeing that figure, and was shocked by the list price of $550; to see what the supplier was charging really got me thinking about how these folks are charging for their services. They clearly need to make money to survive, but wow, what a markup.
The one real comfort complaint I have at this point has to do with how the brace straps onto my lower leg; essentially the straps run across the lower front of my knee where the scar is from the patellar tendon harvest. That area is still tender, apparently, because when I’m using the brace it tends to tighten up when my calf muscles tighten up and that causes it some real discomfort. I noticed this happening on the down stroke of pedaling while riding a bike.
Other than that, it’s just fantastic.
23 Jun 09
I have yet to see any problem, however complicated, which, when you looked at it in the right way, did not become still more complicated.
19 Jun 09
10 Super Useful Tools for Choosing the Right Color Palette
A real handy list of color palette resources. I often struggle with choosing just the right color palette and it shows in my work. : (
Or does it…
17 Jun 09
The Architecture of Star Wars
Star-Wars creator and amateur architect George Lucas has been accused of rather too closely following the designs of media magnate William Randolph Hearst’s ‘Xanadu’ Castle. He should have looked closer to home for inspiration: his Star Wars films are full of wonderful architecture.
17 Jun 09
Trance Captured on Video
I was a bit of a church goer in my younger days, but never witnessed anything quite like this–though some was similar.
Pentecostals, it seems, do not have exclusive rights to this behavior.
16 Jun 09
When a man tells you that he got rich through hard work, ask him: ‘Whose?’
You want funny? You want humor and cheap thrills? Have at it:
That is from a site that I occasionally visit to check out the latest insight on officespeak. And I would say this in particular is an accurate picture of client relations. Go to the site now. Immediately. Go now young one.
…was not what was ordered for me at the medical supplier. Instead, they ordered the Armor. NOT what I wanted at all. The first guy I saw didn’t seem to be very helpful (the one who ordered it up for me). He seemed to assume I wanted something other than what I wanted.
This whole process is starting to get under my skin. I should have been working with this brace already, but will now be two weeks short of where I should be. I’m ANNOYED. But, other than that bit of inconvenience, the insurance company is paying for the brace 100% so that’s good. Plus, the person I saw today was very helpful.
Just wanted to get that off my chest, but it didn’t help. I’m still annoyed. On the progress front, the doc says everything is looking good and I won’t see him until September, which should be near the end of my rehab. Fantastic.
12 Jun 09
The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, but wiser people so full of doubts.
11 Jun 09
The Internet is like alcohol in some sense. It accentuates what you would do anyway. If you want to be a loner, you can be more alone. If you want to connect, it makes it easier to connect.