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Yesterday's solution to "Coil Hobbles Win" was "O! Ben's Chili Bowl". Deborah managed to get it right, and suggested the following one, again, continuing the Brad-inspired-addition of having the letter "O" added to it. So here you go: "Dean Gringo". Go to town.
Brad must've been smoking that crack...here's a hint about the anagram for today, which I just figured out. First, there's an extra "O" in it. Unless Brad was intending to have the anagram be "O! XXXXXXX" which is just silly. Or I could've made a mistake about the anagram itself. Second, if it's what I think, then the answer doesn't sit well with Brad himself. That's the hint. Of course, I could be wrong...
A coup in 2012. Worth reading.
When we graduated from the War College in 1992, the armed forces were the smartest, best educated, and best disciplined force in history.[15] While polls showed that the public invariably gave Congress low marks, a February 1991 survey disclosed that "public confidence in the military soar[ed] to 85 percent, far surpassing every other institution in our society." The armed forces had become America's most--and perhaps only--trusted arm of government.[16]
Assumptions about the role of the military in society also began to change. Twenty years before we graduated, the Supreme Court confidently declared in Laird v. Tatum that Americans had a "traditional and strong resistance to any military intrusion into civilian affairs."[17] But Americans were now rethinking the desirability and necessity of that resistance. They compared the military's principled competence with the chicanery and ineptitude of many elected officials, and found the latter wanting.
Be sure to read the whole thing.
I'm no fan of the Congress Party...but I hate nationalistic parties like the BJP. So congrats to Sonia and friends. A stunning upset.
Okay, giving people a hint evidently was too easy. Brad nailed it so fast that there will be no hints this time. The anagram from "CIA Tolerant" was, of course, "altercation". Thursday's anagram, presented a few hours early, is "Coil Hobbles Win". Go to town!
I want one of these. Now. From the article:
At the Baja Beach Club, Tuesdays are VeriChip implantation days. Stop in and a ''nurse'' -- the club's word -- uses a syringe to inject a VeriChip capsule under your skin. There don't seem to be any rules about where on the body it has to be placed. If you think this sounds like something you'd never do, then you're not the kind of person who goes to clubs wearing your bestest nose ring.
Once implanted, you become your own credit card. Need to pay for a drink? Wave your implant near a reader, and you're done. VeriChip has dreams of going global with its ''human implantable ID technology'' -- once implanted, you could wave a body part to pay for a burger at Wendy's, a beer at a baseball game, or whatever.
Privacy is already dead...we just don't know it yet. Chip me up, kids.
I woke up this morning to hot weather for the third day in a row. At a loss for what to wear, I pushed aside some shirts and discovered a pair of brand new, black linen pants I had purchased months ago but managed to forget in the interim. A great way to start the day. Tasty pretzels at lunch are also in my future. And my office is super-cool, temperature wise. Needless to say, I'm in a good mood.
Brad nailed it. As such, he gets to suggest the next one for tomorrow. I'll post his suggestion tomorrow morning along with the answer for today.
The answer to yesterday's anagram of "Spot Thing Wagons" was "Washington Post". Clearly a little too difficult for the average joe.
Today's anagram is "CIA Tolerant". I'm going to start giving hints so people have a better chance. Today's hint is that I've been in one of these in Adams-Morgan.
Inhofe went ape today during the Taguba hearing...his words were so inflammatory McCain walked out:
I -- well, first of all, I regret I wasn't here on Friday. I was unable to be here. But maybe it's better that I wasn't, because as I watched the -- this outrage, this outrage everyone seems to have about the treatment of these prisoners, I was, I have to say -- and I'm probably not the only one up at this table that is more outraged by the outrage than we are by the treatment. The idea that these prisoners -- you know, they're not there for traffic violations. If they're in cell block 1-A or 1-B, these prisoners, they're murderers, they're terrorists, they're insurgents.
Many of them probably have American blood on their hands. And here we're so concerned about the treatment of those individuals.
And I hasten to say yeah, there are seven bad guys and gals that didn't do what they should have done. They were misguided, I think maybe even perverted, and the things that they did have to be punished. And they're being punished. They're being tried right now, and that's all taking place. But I'm also outraged by the press and the politicians and the political agendas that are being served by this, and I say political agendas because that's actually what is happening.
Well, according to the Red Cross 90% of the people interred were a mistake which kind of belies the whole "American blood on their hands" malarkey. And even if they did...shouldn't we be the ones above torture? Do we really want to turn into these guys?
GENEVA - Up to 90 percent of Iraqi detainees were arrested "by mistake," according to coalition intelligence officers cited in a Red Cross report disclosed Monday. It also says U.S. officers mistreated inmates at the notorious Abu Ghraib prison by keeping them naked in dark, empty cells.
If you want to see the exact moment McCain has had enough of Inhofe's garbage go to right here (it's a clip in realvideo format) and move the time forward to 1:07:20. You get to see Inhofe act like an ass and McCain finally walk out. The people behind Inhofe have some priceless expressions...
I never thought I'd say this but Lindsey Graham is actually making sense. He just said something to the effect of, "Saddam Hussein is a bad man...if we had him in here tomorrow, would you sic dogs on him?" Taguba replied that we needed to follow international law. Graham then said, "Yes, we know Hussein is a bad person, but we need to follow the rule of law and I applaud you..."
Didn't Howard Dean say something like this awhile back...and get castigated? My, how times have changed.
Rove demystified by Wonkette. Hilarious.
Just to remind folks, BG Taguba's father was a prisoner of war during the Bataan death march. So he might be rightly critical of inhumane prisoner treatment. The chance to serve on the side of justice must be especially empowering, to crack down on the kinds of abuse his father had to deal with. Sometimes bad things happen to good people...but sometimes the right person is in the right place at the right time.
He's still testifying on the hill now, if you haven't been watching.
Today's anagram, provided by Kevin is "Spot Thin Wagons". Let the games begin!
Yesterday's answer to the anagram "Roast Mules" was "Somersault".
I want to wash my mouth out with lye. Another former progressive group related to the good doctor meeting has concluded. The problem isn't the kewl kids who are massaging it into place: the problem is the idiots who want to comment constantly throughout the birth-pains. (And no, my idiotic mst3k-like commentary throughout the process is a flash-back to key-club-nazi-fightback, designed to inspire mirth and quiet laughter. I speak to loose tension, to let the people near me know I don't buy all the goods being sold. Importantly though, my dramatic asides consume no time and are spoken sotto voce.) The idiots who ask meaningless questions, to merely hear the sound of their own voices, these are the ones I condemn. There were far less this time, so that was good. Still, I long for the meeting where peoplw who actually have valid points speak out. Plus, no one threatened to quit this time. Kind of a letdown, really.
Before I hit the Powers-that-be, I suppose I should explain the flow business quickly. Basically, because of the White Power Incident on Thursday afternoon, I was unable to go to Barnes and Noble. I thought about hitting Afterwords, but instead decided to learn some vague law stuff with Fincher, reasoning that the books I wished to collect would be available at B and N the following day. As a result of this decision, Friday I buzzed by B and N and scored the book I was looking for for m-day, courtesy a tip from Jill. On the minus side, the book I wanted to pick up for y.t. wasn't available there. Consequently, I couldn't nab the Powers-mentioned-earlier because I was out of time. So I roll home for m-day and end up reading a Wittgenstein book which related to a conversation I had had earlier in the week. The book was a great way to spend the weekend. When I came back from funchester, Sunday evening, I called up a few friends and then walked over towards the afore-mentioned Afterwords. One exact conversation on the phone later, I'm outside when the party in question finishes. So, perfectly, I roll inside and find the particular Powers book in seconds flat. Calling back the earlier friend, I discover I need to wait an hour or so, so I roll north to a little kalorama park I hadn't hit in years.
Dusk hits and the lights come up, perfect for reading. Plenty of people play in the park, and snatches of conversation invade my consciousness as I read about a reference librarian and the double-helix-twisted lives fictional characters live. A bit later I get a call, close my book, and meander north.
So where's the flow?
Well, put simply: everything worked out. From the anthrax decision to not hit Afterwords (enabling me to walk around adams-morgan, dressed up beyond what I should have been, cream-flavored ice-cream dripping onto the sidewalk as I discussed briefly how a bill becomes a law) and to enjoy the evening, I was cursed to spend the weekend with the Wittgenstein book I wished to read anyway. Having finished that, I then managed to score the Powers book after a nicely timed conversation exactly as I needed to on Sunday. Each decision seemed like a halfway decent one, but in hindsight, they each fit; they each were perfect. Even today, as I sat at work, problems mounting, I managed to show up late for my evening political appointment. Yet to show up early would've been sheer hell. Only through pain came the consequence of victory.
That's where the flow idea comes in. I hate the concept of fate. And I am hesitant to debate free will with the likes of Brad and others. But, excluding all other variables, I do tend to hit waves right below their crest, to swim with the current rather than against. Things just seem to work. Causality may be an illusion, but if we go on the past record alone, things continually seem to work out for me for the best. A million ideas bubble to the surface, of which only two reify themselves, and yet the flow never ceases. Rinse, later, repeat. It's the only thing that keeps me going from day to day, the knowledge that each day will be easier, better, stronger, faster than the day preceding it. I've got the manic bit down fine. It's the depression I can never seem to conjure up. Oh, well. I'll just keep riding the current until I need to get off.
Time to end an amazingly amusing evening.
I meant to post this last night, but the incredible lameness of a certain-neigborhood-which-must-not-be-named, kept me from it. By the time I returned to the 'werkz, I was tired and in the mood for something other than sitting in front of an lcd and waxing nostalgic about the weekend.
The short version of the m-day weekend was that I got outside, worked mightily towards skin cancer, and read Brad's collegiate book by Wittgenstein, "Philosophical Investigations". It was half in german, which made it proceed twice as quickly, as every left-hand page I merely skipped.
Now, unfortunately, I am somewhat tardy in throwing up reviews of multiple movies and books, but I hope to amend this situation this evening, after a political meeting which I am already almost late in attending. Given the server maintenance I'm performing even as my fingers fly across this particular keyboard, I can merely hope that things go smoothly and that I am released from my work in time to hit the next event. If not, it could be a long night. And I don't like those.
The title refers to a concept I will explicate later. I've done it before, however, so the next post may be somewhat repetitive.
Kevin nailed the anagram in record time (at 11:13 am!). I'll post the solution tomorrow for all of you who wish to keep floundering about with it. As such, if he wants to suggest a new anagram for Tuesday, (thus solving the problem of having one person solves all of the anagrams...this way a new person will have to get the solution at least every other day) he has until tomorrow to suggest one to me.
In December, the CPA estimated how much power they would need right here (it's a .pdf document, annoyingly). Yet let's look at how well they did last week (the idiotic CPA put this one into an excel document!). Rather than force people to click links I'll throw up the images in a minute. But first let's see how high we've been...from the pdf mentioned earlier:
Power production peaked at 4,518 MW on October 6, surpassing the pre-war level of 4,400 MW.
Now, according to others the CPA pushed the date back to July 1 from June 1. And if we already hit 4,518 on October 6th, you might be inclined to think the 6,000 MW number is completely doable in June or July. But you'd be mistaken, as you can see from the images below, the first two taken directly from the .pdf and the excel sheet, and the second extrapolated from the numbers contained within the excel sheet. Remember, these are all from the horse's...er...the CPA's mouth:
Click on each image to get a larger version. The first image is the official CPA prediction, made back in December. Remember, they were aiming for a June 1 deadline of over 6000 MW.
Here's the power produced in the past three months. Quite a bit lower than predicted. This is also the official CPA graph, from their excel sheet.
The sheet contained numbers going back to August, so I thought I'd regenerate the same graph, only with the history going back farther, so that I could see what the deal was with October and the 4,400 MW number. It turns out that day was a statistical outlier. There is no trend going up...so the 6000MW prediction is optimistic.
Some of you may have noticed that I discontinued the "credibility gap of the day" series. After a while it became somewhat predictable, and ever since the Secretary of Defense declared "the system is working" in response to questions about the abuse of Iraqi prisoners, to say that there is a credibility gap is to actually give the administration too much credit.
With that said, I did like the daily stress of posting one item...so I'm hereby inducting a new feature: the daily anagram. If someone wants to solve the anagram, I'll post who achieved it first and their nickname. (If you don't have a nickname then this could be a way to finagle one out of me.) If not, I'll simply post the answer the following day.
So today's anagram is this: "Roast Mules". Go to town.
More on the blue pool weekend in a bit...
Wow.
First Friday was Fun. With a capital F. The art was so-so, although a late gallery provided some good stuff. The rain provided some drama, and helped us move from the mediocre galleries to the good ways in record time. Plenty of fun and memorable conversations with Deborah, Kevin, Fincher and friends. Dinner at Zorba's was a good way to end the evening. Anytime an experience ends with tasty skordalia and patates teganites is noteworthy in my book.
Only it didn't end. Those left hit "Mean Girls" in g-town which was surprisingly good. Review forthcoming, although the site of a math geek ripping his shirt off and several scenes ripped straight from the best moment of "Final Destination" were all amusing. Another great way to bow out. Only we get to the parking lot and nobody moves. Five minutes later I get out of the car and roll up on foot to the gatehouse. The arm was stuck in the down position, and the entire lot was full of cars honking though nothing was moving. I talk for about two minutes, think what the hell...i can always make up some story about carbon monoxide and manually bend the arm into a somewhat higher position. (I could feel it start to break so I didn't dare lift it the entire way.) I managed to get about 20 cars out of the lot while holding it up, including two SUVs, and my ride, of course, before two large SUV's blocked the rest. Damn Navigators. By that point some police had arrived and my arms were tired, when one cop looked at me and asked if I had keys to unlock the arms. I thought about being a smartass and saying "why the hell would I be holding this arm in the up position if I had a key?" but instead I merely commented "I don't work here" and ran up the causeway. A good way to end the evening.
Only it wasn't. On the way home, Deborah driving, we pass by what appears to be an accident. It isn't until the handcuffs come out that we realize a hooker is being busted at Logan Circle, as we watch. Light turns green, we pull away. Too dark for pix. Icing on a fantastic evening cake. Time to roll out for m-day weekend.
Deborah just reminded me...the best part about me lifting the parking arm for all the people in the parking lot was that none of us paid for parking. Sweet.
No, the 'werkz isn't falling apart. Yet. I just wanted to ask why every person and their cousin is/was/has recently taken their property exam? My co-worker called me up a minute ago to open up some document he left in the office that was about easements for his test this evening. Fincher finished hers earlier today. Forrest took his the other day. Does the entire world revolve around Edward? Are these directorial touches of a deranged mind? Mere minutes stand between me and First Friday Frivolity...
The other Warner from Virginia, that is. Finally the commonwealth will begin to move back towards a pro-business, fiscally conservative outlook. It's about time. A huge victory for him.
Not Rummy. That intern who "forgot to bring" the big charts McCain wanted. It certainly was the only humorous moment of the entire hearing, watching Rumsfeld go "um...we had it...it's here somewhere...wait, we forgot to bring it?!?!?!"
Oh, the protesters were fun too. Props to Warner for letting them chant until they got kicked out. Democracy is good after all, even if evil people live among us (or govern us!).
Lieberman sucks. Rummy is smart. Armed Service Senators are smarter, both Dems and Republicans. (Except Joe. And Jeff Sessions.) The one thing to take away from Rummy's testimony is that even worse stuff is going to come out soon. (See the section linked earlier mentioning "videotaped" and "young boys"). This is a huge disaster, no matter how you slice it.
Oh, and I'm proud that Warner used to be my Senator. He's a classy guy, even if he is a Republican. Plus, the irony of having Senator McCain grill the Secretary of Defense about prisoner of war treatment is enough to almost make my head explode. America, collectively, should be ashamed.
Stop your grinning and drop your linen. Rummy's on at 11:45, on c-span and abc. We'll see what happens...