Is this more indicia of an activated J-Walk?  Pamn has wrenched you from blog & banjo chair?

Wish I’d written the book.

No, you don’t.  Trust me on this.

Touch Different
See Different
Feel Different
Be Different

Apple.  The Different is Now Differenter.

Smears of freaky bacteria. 

Touch Me
Feel Me
Infect Me
(Will it be Possible to…)
Heal Me?

The iPad of a 17 year old boy is a disgusting implement.  I’m just sayin’.

Nimble, yes, but still goat-brained.

Just a great big illuminated logo….

Of what?  A monochrome apple with a bite taken out of it.  And it’s pointed away from me, the computer user. And it’s not “great big.“  Plus no words.  None.  Simple. Clean.  So good-lookin’.

Sounds like the time our youngest daughter called us from LA to report the earthquake they has just had there - the Northridge quake I think, and we’d heard nothing about it until she called. Scared us to death

My wife, baby son and I were in that quake.  It was a very wild time.  I guess I don’t like earthquakes too much, after that.

Hope all is well, Thrash “Rattle & Roll” Cardminimum!  And you NC peeps!

http://img214.imageshack.us/img214/1185/colette2w.jpg

There are so many reasons to admire Colette, not least of which being that she kept french bulldogs.

http://img714.imageshack.us/img714/471/frenchbulldog30.jpg

Off to the farmer’s market.

Sarah Weinman has an interesting entry on Scandinavian mystery/crime writers on her blog.

She also has news of Richard Price contracting for a lengthy crime series.

How’d that happen?

MJ - my kid is named after Henry James - weird and affected, I know, but we liked the names.  He likes to refer to himself as “Hank Jim,“ none too Jamesian, that.

I am a Steig Larsson convert.  I liked the sort of coda last section of Dragon Tattoo and am reading Fire (which, I agree with several commenters here, is maybe even better).  I love how Salander has developed - how she’s dealing with her body & finances, what she’s reading, etc.  Plus, coffee & sandwiches continues!

John - I’d truly be interested in what you’d think of the Red Riding series (this too exists as films and novels) and Winter’s Bone (also film and novel).

All these books and movies seem of a piece.

I have purchased several cars.  I always tell them to leave their signs off and they do.

No stickers on an Apple laptop.

Spanking.

Can you get kiddie condoms to go with this?

People are already backing away from stuff like Facebook and Twitter.

You have GOT to be kidding me, Kaleberg, you crisp, lite, yet nutritious lettuce. Early adopters, yes, but the masses?  No way, Hose.

Curtis

You listening to lightning and rain this morning?

Rance - I woke up at 6:00 a.m. to the sounds of steady rain.  I got up and closed all the windows on the sleeping porch to keep the elk antler (and other stuff) dry.  Went back and crawled into the sack, slept until 10:00 (my wife is having a stay-cation, we’re catching some zzz’s).

Enough unasked for advice, happy duck.

My wife rinsing dishes and filling the dishwasher.  A reporter from the BBC on the radio interviewing the inventor of deep-fried beer.

“Have you ever eaten a pretzel with your beer?  This is like that, but you don’t have to drink.“

The dishwasher kicks in.

“Obama.  Eve of Peace Talks.  Dead settlers,“ on the radio.

My kid’s office chair creaks and settles from upstairs. 
I turn the station to WXPN in Philly and Echoes is starting.  I hear Tom Middleton.

The bulldog snores from under the kitchen table where I’m sitting.

And if I was Microsoft I’d sue over Bing/Ping confusion.

The going has gotten weird and the Weird Pro is turning, but not in his grave yet.

CBG - That’s a David Fincher film.  I doubt it’s BS.

Kirkpatrick also wrote a good book on this subject.

I love my pressure washer and I don’t care who knows it!

David - did you notice that I linked to Tom Vanderbilt in #6?  Again (and I can see you don’t understand the concept) I don’t drive slower, I just drive the prevailing speed with space in front.  It slows no one down.  You’re supposed to leave space between your car and the car in front of you, BTW.

Vanderbilt thinks so-called “late merging” keeps traffic flowing better and suggests people practice exactly what we’re discussing here.

if you leave a space in front of you and slow down to do it, I will speed around you and flip you off. Do the ZIPPER. Folks in New England know it and abide by it. It works.

Why give people the finger on the road?  It is an impotent gesture.

But maybe you could explain this vaunted “New England” zipper more. 

BTW - I don’t “slow down” to leave a space in front of my car.  I just drive the prevailing speed and leave space so I don’t have to slow down to let people in.  Is this not the ZIPPER?

Looking forward to reading this.  Thanks for posting.

Highway departments are realizing that it is better use of highway space to NOT have people merge early.

Exactly.  Use all available pavement to move traffic forward.  Be nice to one another.  Team work.

wally -  The 394 heading towards downtown Mpls, attempting to get onto 94 East.

Tom Vanderbilt writes well about this stuff.

Shel-tone - I’ve done this in Austin and I didn’t have to stop in traffic.  Nobody gave me the finger either.

What’s that law of internet physics that has to do with the first person to mention the 14th Amendment in a thread?  Bisbo’s Law?

I like this list.

Like, let’s not have these lobbyists in contact with any legislators.

from the corporate-driven lobbyists who determine every legislative move

What about the myriad of lobbies that aren’t “corporate driven?“

They ASK their people what they want. They ask for e-mail, they hold town hall meetings, they send out questionnaires.

And from this process a clear, concise answer results that informs every legislative move they make?

Let those who are elected represent their constituents by creating and voting for laws and bills according to their wishes.

And how do they identify those wishes?

Laughing Sally

-or-

I’d Really Like a Shirt Like That

Who pays people?  Corporations, that’s who.  Deal with it.

And which lobbies should go?  Big Pharma?

What about the Cure Breast Cancer lobby?

Or the AARC lobby?

How about Big Oil?

Or that horrible Habitat for Humanity lobby?

You also wouldn’t bring a suit like this in Washington if you were a patent troll.

Paul Allen is no patent troll.  I DO know quite a bit about that species.  That’s what makes this circumstance so odd.

this was one of the shady patent factories who were doing a lot of broad patents and waiting if someone can be attacked

Source, WAIMT?  I’m wondering about it because I don’t know much about Interval Research.

This is strange.  Does he want a shakedown of these companies so they will be forced to join the band of billionaires?

It seems that such an action could only be the result of zealotry.

corporations have zero incentive to poison or rip off their customers

What about their workers?  Especially their workers in South and Central American; Asia, etc.  Or even here at home, ever read about aerosolized pig brains?  Of course fixing that would be tyranny, especially if taxpayer money was used.

(which the libs try to justify by the commerce clause.)

Care to explain that?  Or is that just a common conservatosphere trope that the initiated accept as having a meaningful meaning?

The ones you mention on the post you linked to are entertainers with no particular practical or achievable goals. Beyond that, some of them have so little understanding of the workings of economics and policy that they cannot be taken seriously.

But they are “average high school graduates,“ mr. duck.  Those are the real authentic leaders.

I’m telling you, rent Idiocracy and watch it.  All will be explained.

That’s kind of like the iPad.

I don’t think I could write a response to those questions if you replaced “conservatives“ with “liberals.“

But then I’m somewhat wary of the WalkenNet,  er, Web… er, spider thingy.

Oh my God THE CARS HAVE FACES!  THE CARS HAVE FACES!  THE CARS H… oh wait a sec… never mind.

What.  What.

Is the tax code even comprehensible by the average high school graduate?

No.  Should it be?  Is that the standard?  All government rules and laws must be understood by average high school graduates?

I kicked the event off by crawling into a little playhouse barn on the property, and playing several Old Time tunes. Fantastic acoustics…or maybe it’s just that we were in such a tiny enclosed space.

I used to jam in a bomb shelter back on the hippie commune farm in Lake Elmo, MN.  We played acoustic space music.  The sustain in that place would have made Dead Can Dance start waltzing.

Reading in bed is a challenge unless you push the glasses up over your eyebrows so you can see through the close focus part.

This, and arthritis, are what drove me to the Kindle.

Reading Twain’s Feast right now.  About to go sit under my favorite cottonwood next to the Mississippi and read it.

Note the footwear of the President’s passenger:

http://img641.imageshack.us/img641/7112/idiocracylarge.jpg

Yes, those are JetSkis. Here’s the President:

http://img827.imageshack.us/img827/1179/pdvd005v.jpg

Mike Judge has seen the future.  He is the greatest futurist of all time.

Here’s the Reflecting Pool in Idiocracy

http://img834.imageshack.us/img834/3710/pdvd008y.jpg

Just don’t let that car mate with a truck with a trailer hitch scrotum.

So cool, wait till you read my mash-up of “The Wasteland.“  It’s my idea now, I did the work on it..

But now you can see how ridiculous it is for artists and their estates to retain any rights over their work, ‘cause all mills need grist - hell, mills are entitled to grist.

http://img405.imageshack.us/img405/1151/frenchieonporch.jpg

I knew you would like that picture, Curtis.

http://img340.imageshack.us/img340/3972/frenchiesits.jpg

http://img839.imageshack.us/img839/403/scan7721212311.jpg

Mean Jean - What’s a beavertail and how is it prepared?  I’ve eaten deep-fried snapping turtle’s feet before, but no beavertail.

The okra and squash was delicious with sliced tomatoes and sweet corn on the side and strawberry rhubarb pie to top it off.  I’ll make the pickles tonight.

That sun spot reminds me of those Macro Eye Photos

FWIW

BTW

BTW - I think that book is the very first “Complete Idiot” type guide.

BTW, just watched “Idiocracy.“  Crocs are featured.

How to Keep Your Volkswagen Alive

I had this book back in ‘73 to keep my ‘63 Beetle going.  I kinda did, at least until I bought my 64 Rambler American for $99.

That Spam sounds iffy, Rance.  Nobody’s going to kill for you if you feed ‘em that.

You know “Wasp” is, right?  Not to be messed with.

Texas better than California.  Try looking at it again and this time with the normal eyes, not the crazy eyes.

I kid.  I kid.

Goddamnit, I can’t figure out what MJ meant by cucumber table pickles.

HOWEVER I am much cooler than all of you with my High Priced Artsy Status Enhancing iPad.

My kid has an iPad 3G.  I tried reading a novel on it and didn’t like it compared to even my Gen 1 Kindle. I liked it for about 5 reading sessions, but couldn’t really read for more than 45 minutes without getting distracted by eyestrain (even set to low light). Also, it’s a ridiculously heavy thing for a tablet.

The other day I had a free afternoon and I sat under a gigantic cottonwood down by the river and read my Kindle in the dappled sunlight - impossible on the iPad.  Indeed, the super-reflective screens on all the latest Apple gear (including my new iMac) are kind of annoying.  Colors, definition and video do look great on them though.

I can help you, NoHelp—Last Open Mic, Meanie posted a fried squash & okra, table top pickles, sliced t’mater, & watermelon for dessert meal.  I’m making that, except with sweetcorn and no watermelon dessert (I’m not partial to it).

Thanks for reminding me of Divine Right, Thrash!  I read that in The Whole Earth Catalog.

Don’t do it Thrash!  Offer to cook ‘em lunch instead.  What are these women, some sort of Delilahs with hair irons?

I’m making Mean Jean‘s last Friday meal tonight.

Well, I don’t miss it at all

If you’d moved back to St. Louis instead of Tucson, you’d be missing it something fierce.

BTW - the WiFi is slick - much faster downloads.

Oh, now I see on my wife’s Gen 2 that it already had giant typeface mode.

Five years ago today we watched the movers drive away from our house in LA, got in our car and began driving to Minnesota.  It was so strange to feel the unsettled emotions that come with moving across the country while this tragedy was taking place.  Every night feeling homesick and anxious for ourselves (also filled with anticipation) while people were dying and fleeing their homes on every television in every hotel room we stayed in.

Last night we tried to start re-watching Spike Lee’s masterpiece, When the Levee’s Broke and I had to quit watching.  I miss California so much, but I feel guilty for having my sense of displacement threaded to this catastrophe.

You can make the type honkin’ huge on this new one:

http://img338.imageshack.us/img338/6868/img0575e.jpg

There’s one more big size after this one.

http://img96.imageshack.us/img96/7950/img0570st.jpg

Notice that the new one has no numbers? You have to press the SYM key to get a pop up with numbers and other non-alpha characters. Not sure I like that.

I agree, but man is this thing easy to use and looks great e-ink-wise.  The toggle switch(?) is a really good improvement over either the roller (1st Gen) or joystick (2nd Gen).

And, oh yeah, I could get that card… nah, it’s worth $40 not to hassle with it. 

I no longer hate you, (except for your desert pool, I’ll always hate you for that, always).

http://img824.imageshack.us/img824/5857/img0566i.jpg

http://img28.imageshack.us/img28/2959/img0568dj.jpg

Mine just arrived - full price - did I say I hate you?

I hate you.

I’d have it implanted in my forehead.

I don’t get it.

RIGHT!?

Thanks, now I hate Jackie Mason, who also needs some dentistry and what’s with his lip shade (waving hands in air near mouth) and does he have some kind of pre-death embalming going on there, no, but wait a minute, he’s The Ultimate Jew so embalming not even a question, right?  Right!?

Photo Ruined By Thief?

or

Thief Ruined by Photo?

I actually used a DarkBall, not an UltraBall.  I started playing Pokemon on Nintendo DSi last winter to be able to have conversations with the car full of teens with autism that I drive to school four times a week.  I now play it a little bit every day and have something to share with my kid.

BTW, Nicholson Baker had an article in a recent New Yorker about playing video games with his son.

You libs crack me up. Each one trying to take more pride than the other in “not eating at McDonalds.“

My liberalism led me to AN ENTIRE YEAR OF REGULARLY EATING BACON.  You asshat.

I don’t eat McDonalds, you asshats.

Keith, your mother sews socks that smell.

I’ve always suspected this.

Is it me?

Seriously, man.  Is it?

A beer fridge. In my shed.

I have a beer fridge. In my head.

Phillip - A Serious Man is a GREAT MOVIE -  especially when watching it in Saint Louis Park, MN with a bunch of landsmen.

The only question is should I read them in Swedish or English.

I’d sure like to see the comments of a Swedish reader.

banjo brad - the reverse order has been an enhancement to my reading experience.

Let the Right One In is excellent.  Also if people haven’t seen Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead.

Justin Bieber is no The Archies.

You sound like a Hollywood movie exec.

So I listen to “The Business” and “The Treatment” on KCRW and I used to read Variety back in the young days - these things have turned me into a boorish showbiz jargon twirler.

I have to wonder about people who quibble about a complicated plot.

I don’t think it’s complicated, just unclear and needlessly filled with details that advance nothing in the early pages.