1. Just Before Sunset The day had been hot. But now the sun was going down behind a thunderhead in the west, lighting up the margins of the great towering cloud silver agains a blue sky. And a cool breeze was blowing. Storms were approaching from the east, with flashing bolts of lightning against the […]
Yearly Archives: 2010
What Simon Said
Sat, 17 Jul 2010, 10:20 PM (-06:00)
There are very few people I pay attention to when it comes to discussions of financial reform and fixing the broken stuff. Â At the top of the list are Simon Johnson and Elizabeth Warren. No surprise: neither is liked by the moneyed interests that dominate the policy apparatus in the White House and Department of […]
Watching TV
Sat, 17 Jul 2010, 10:44 AM (-06:00)
I watched a little TV last night. Not particularly notable until you also know that I don’t have a television and haven’t for more than ten years. So thisis actually a confession of sorts, an admission of weakness, a reflection of guilt. Whatever. I watched four Twilight Zone episodes online last night: Flight 33, Where Is […]
Un-American activities
Thu, 15 Jul 2010, 06:42 PM (-06:00)
We’re Americans. We don’t torture. Any claim to the contrary is poppycock. It’s un-American. According to transcripts from the House of Representatives, CIA detainees… were made to wear a diaper [p. 79] had to listen to music [p. 79] were blindfolded [p. 79] Sheesh. Diapers, music and blindfolds are now torture? would be shackled hand-and-foot [p. 79] Now […]
Financial Decisions Being Made
Fri, 2 Jul 2010, 09:50 PM (-06:00)
In an interview on the radio recently, that paragon of clear thinking Michele Bachmann, complaining about Obama’s attendance at the G-20 summit, said I can’t, we can’t necessarily trust the decisions that are being made financially in other countries. [Corley/ThinkProgress] Heck, I can’t, we can’t, you can’t necessarily trust the decisions that are being made […]
Sureity
Thu, 1 Jul 2010, 09:13 PM (-06:00)
1. Definitions. 1.1. Let Eu denote a universal set of outcomes that we are interested seeing realized. And let E ⊂ Eu denote some particular subset of outcomes. 1.2. Let Pu denote a universal set of people. And let p ∈ Pu denote a particular person in that set of people. And let P ⊂ Pu denote some particular subset in […]
A Backyard Walk
Wed, 30 Jun 2010, 09:54 PM (-06:00)
Let’s go for a walk in the back. I’ll show you around and tell you some stories. [Click on the photos for bigger images. This is going to take a while. If you’re busy, feel free to leave at anytime.] Let’s start on the patio. Here’s our little pond. It’s in a 3′ cattle tank […]
Really (in two parts)
Tue, 29 Jun 2010, 04:36 PM (-06:00)
1. Really? “Are the rain barrels really full?” she asked from across the dining room table, gently questioning what I wrote. I was momentarily silent. Only the fair and industrious Trudy would know that it would take more than yesterday’s rain to fill up the two barrels on the south side of the house. “Well […]
Don’t Go Emptying Your Rain Barrels…
Mon, 28 Jun 2010, 08:45 PM (-06:00)
1. The Approaching Storm “Watch the radar,” she said. “Don’t go emptying your rain barrels until you know it’s going to rain.” The fair and industrious Trudy knows her husband well. So I sat at the keyboard periodically glancing out the window, eyeing the approach of black clouds from the west. And I watched the […]
Birds
Tue, 22 Jun 2010, 11:23 PM (-06:00)
1. Hummingbirds The Turks Cap has only barely begun to bloom in the backyard, the red flowers peeking out from the one plant by the Pine tree. I didn’t figure that we’d see Hummingbirds much until we had more of those red blossoms, but yesterday there was one flitting between the wild Sunflowers. I didn’t […]