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11:25 pm
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This needs to be a t-shirt
Do I look like Mrs. Obama?
Via.
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01:16 pm
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Dog Days
Mr. Monkey was not getting representative democracy last week.
I drafted a pair of dogs for the cause: we elected them our representatives. Bade them to stay in the capitol (kitchen) and do our bidding there while we pursued our business and pleasures in the dining room.
It did not work very well: the elected representatives came back from Capitol City to politic for more cookies.
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07:32 am
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Travellers Report: Home again!
Things I learned second-hand
- Germans don't know what pie is. Talking real pie - the kind with fruit or pumpkin filling.
- Neither do Turks.
- Turks are insane drivers.
- That insanity is infectious.
- If one is hauling chunks of rock home on the airplane one will be stopped by security. If only because they're knocked out that someone would haul rocks around in a suitcase.
- Dogs will emotionally detonate when their mistress suddenly appears in the driveway after a two-week absence.
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12:33 am
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Whoopsie
A few nights ago I told the Little Monkey how, when he was a baby, we rubbed his nose to put him to sleep. I demonstrated, kissed him goodnight, turned off the light.
Fast forward to tonight: he's in bed, humming.
hmm-mmm-mmmm-hm-mm-hm-mmmm
"Stop humming, or I'll come in there and rub your nose!"
hmm-mmm-mmmm-hm-mm-hm-mmmm
Whoops.
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10:52 am
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Shenanigans and tomfoolery
Hmm.
In 1997, (Robert Byrd) told an interviewer he would encourage young people to become involved in politics, but to "Be sure you avoid the Ku Klux Klan. Don't get that albatross around your neck. Once you've made that mistake, you inhibit your operations in the political arena."
Robert Byrd is, at the age of 92, the longest serving member of Congress. Ever.
One wonders what shenanigans a Kluxer would have got up to if he hadn't been inhibited.
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10:40 am
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Red v Blue
Russia and the Ukraine
Whatever you think of the merits of the case (laid out in heroic detail by Wikipedia), you have to pity the Russians a little bit. For centuries the biggest country in the world, Russia could never conquer its way to a single economically useful land border or seaport. What used to be a comfortable ring of client states (the 'near abroad', in Russian terms) went away with the fall of Communism, and now the former heartland of the Soviet Union is getting all up in Russia's business and demanding to be treated like a sovereign state, instead of remaining a complacent little throw pillow like Belarus. The Russians react to this a bit like the Americans might if the Midwest were to secede, begin speaking French, and demand boxcars full of quality merchandise at low, low prices. It really burns them up.
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10:21 pm
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Intermittent fasting and the Five Tibetians
I'm giving intermittent fasting and the Five Tibetians (as interpreted by Steve Barnes) a try.
So far (as-of day 2) results are .. interesting. Mentally I feel sharp and keen since my day started at 05:15 [1]. Taught the monkey school, hacked a little, cleaned the house a bit. Took the Monkey and a dog for a walk at lunch. I'm not actually very sleepy, but I am tired.
Fasting ... per the rules I get raw fruit or vegetables to curb hunger. And that's been it, all day [2]. The first time I've fasted on purpose since my OA Ordeal.
I'm giving some serious thought to staying up until midnight and grilling up a cow with a rasher of bacon for a side.
[1] Not by choice: one dog decided she had to go potty so they ALL went outside and after that rodeo sleep was not going to be an option.
[2] With the exception of the oatmeal I had at breakfast before remembering the IF thing.
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10:45 am
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Mr. Cranky and the blue plastic blocks
I'm not sure what friggin' educational genius came up with this idea
Blue Plastic Base Ten manipulatives: made by Satan, NEA approved
But I am about ready to throw the set that came from K12 into the river.
Monkey is well into working with numbers into the thousands, and his books still carry directions like: Subtract. You may use models. Which is fine, except he's past the point where he needs the aid. Still, he insisted on using them because they are 'fun'.
I let him fool around with the things. Five minutes of 'manipulating' to crank out the wrong answer. Then a few seconds with pen and paper to get the actual correct answer. I didn't have to say anything - he put the blocks away so we can get on with life and get the math lesson over with.
I will allow these are slick ways to get the point across - for itty-bitty numbers and kids new to the math thing. For anything above 100 it's worse than math with roman numerals.
And they're not even very good blocks - they're too slick to stack well.
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09:39 pm
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Hillbilly Music
The player cued up my new (but old to me) song
Now it's guitars, cadillacs, hillbilly music
Lonely, lonely streets that I call home
Yea, my guitars, cadillacs, hillbilly music
It's the only thing that keeps me hangin' on
And Charlie the Cockatoo started rocking out. Dancing: bobbing. Waddling to and fro on his perch. Crooning.[1]
Jeepers: my wife's bird is a friggin' hillbilly.
[1] Cockatoos are not, in my brief experience, what you would call melodious. More like a happy-go-lucky drunk who insists on singing his favorite song, loud and off-key.
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07:38 am
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Traveler's Notes from Istanbul.
In which our intrepid tourists discover that booking a hotel room on short notice and paying cut-rate fares invokes the principal of 'you gets whats you pays for'.
The gentleman that owns it is very friendly and helpful, but his wife or the woman that runs it with him, does not seem overly thrilled to have us here.
It's Fawlty Towers!
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02:01 pm
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ACL9 duh moment
Spent, oh, hours and hours getting ACL9 to work. Lots and lots of FAIL and gnashing of teeth. Because I had neglected to include a key line in my controller.
# posts_controller.rb
...
def create
...
current_user.has_role!(:owner, @post)
...
Because, see, the current user can't edit or destroy an object unless it is made explicit that he owns it.
When things just work after a lot of tedious larking about I'm always left with a curious feeling: That's it! Why that was nothing!
On to the next self-inflicted challenge!
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09:19 pm
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Traveler's Notes
From Istanbul
It was kind of crazy trying to find the hotel. We laughed a lot even though we were lost for about three hours. And that was with Y trying to help us find the way.
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11:21 am
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Bowing and Scraping
Will the adults in charge at the White House have a word with the boss about this?
Thank you.
One does not bow or curtsy to a foreign monarch because the gesture symbolizes recognition of her power over her subjects. One nevertheless treats her with respect.
From 'Miss Manners' Guide For the Turn-of-the-millennium' By Judith Martin
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09:57 am
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Pictures from Izmir
Potato Alley - Izmir Turkey. R's apartment is upstairs in one of these buildings.
More tourist pictures here. This one reminded me of San Diego.
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01:19 pm
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Vapid Political Pontificating
http://reason.com/archives/2009/11/11/the-folly-of-unilateral-disarm
“This latest tragedy, at a heavily fortified army base,
Say 'heavily fortified' and people think 'vitamins'. If they are somewhat clued in they may have an image of Fort Apache with blue coated soldiery manning the walls. Corregidor in 1941, a-bristle with cannon and thick masonry walls adorned with sandbags. Any FOB in Iraq or Afghanistan.
But he is not describing a large army post in CONUS. Anyone can pretty much get in and go anywhere. The main post is to big to effectively seal off unless you employ defense in depth - fences, trenches, roving patrols - call it a battalion of troops, easy. All to secure motor pools, warehouses and office buildings.
Places that need to be secure on the main post, are: with fences, razor wire and armed guards. Other areas - barracks, mess halls, office buildings - may have a bored un-armed soldier on the front door. Or they may not.
Anyone who gives this some thought knows this.
I loathe intentional ignorance in pursuit of vapid political pontificating.
Via.
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01:12 pm
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I see you are shod in fashionable victim wear today
There are lots of reasons to despise flip-flops ...
What you and the rest of the grown men slip-slapping down sidewalks in rubber sandals at this very moment fail to understand is that those flesh-covered metatarsals are not suitable for public display. Nor do balmy weather and the relative social acceptability of man-pedicures give you a green light to march your naked toes into any public place that doesn’t have sandy floors or serve piña coladas in coconut shells.
but fashion isn't one of them. When you wear flip-flops you can't run. Running away from trouble should always be the first thing one attempts when danger threatens.
You can always come back with well-armed friends.
Anyhoo. Wearing sandals takes away the flight option and turns you into a victim. So - you look like a dork and a potential corpse: a twofer.
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01:10 pm
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Games any veteran will fondly recall
Ultra-Realistic Modern Warfare Game Features Awaiting Orders, Repairing Trucks.
Advanced players will be able to unlock Company Picnics aka Mandatory Fun and Avoiding Work Detail levels.
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11:16 pm
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My Child's Rules For Food
A Selection:
- He will eat spaghetti but not penne.
- Yogurt cannot have chunks of fruit.
- Pasta sauce cannot have chunks of anything.
- Pear juice from the can: O.K. Pears from the can: no way.
I do not think I was this picky as a child. I probably was.
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11:13 am
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You Maniacs! You blew it up! Ah, damn you! God damn you all to hell!
They said and said they were gonna do it and they did: Oracle replaced a working and workable support page with a gawd-damned spawn of Satan made out of Flash pile of excrement.
It's okay Oracle. I like
- Not being able to scroll with my mouse wheel.
- A login dialog a whole click away from your default landing page.
- Not being able to store my password in my browser.
Because there is nothing like having to deal with a shit-load of minor irritation when you're dealing with critical support issues.
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11:09 am
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Comment of the day
http://tjic.com/?p=13176&cpage=1#comment-227209
Americans, and Canadians, have had this now antiquated assumption of honesty in dealing with the government. Foolish, foolish indeed, and nearly over.
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bdunbar's journal
