Happy Birthday Crusader!!!!!!

More reasons…

to keep driving my paid-for 20mpg BMW. I’m using less energy over the life of the vehicle.

Power Troubles In NY

ConEd is asking all buildings to cut their power usage by 25%. It’s going to be close to 100 here today.
Yippee.
At least I don’t have to go into the subway.

Attention FoxNews and AP-IPSO Pollees!!

(Or ANY other polltakers in the near future.) When queried about “would the Democrats do a better job on the economy than the current administration“, please refer to these numbers before stepping blindly into the abyss:

Output at U.S. factories, mines and utilities rose by a bigger-than-expected 0.8 percent in June and capacity use also topped expectations…
…Capacity use rose to 82.4 percent, the highest rate since 82.5 percent in June 2000, the Fed reported on Monday.
Industrial production rose at an annual rate of 6.6 percent in the second quarter, the largest quarterly rise since a 7.7 percent climb in the fourth quarter of 1999.
…Manufacturing output in June rose at 0.7 percent on gains in automotive production, while mining output jumped 1.2 percent and utilities output climbed 0.7 percent.
Manufacturing capacity use was 81.1 percent, the highest since May 2000.

Knowledge is power, children and the answer to the question is “No”.
Wake UP.

In the Words of the Grail Knight, “If You Must Choose…

…choose wisely…”

The Adventures of Brisco County Jr. – The Complete Series (1993)

Holland Tunnel Plot

This is really not surprising:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) — A plot to bomb New York’s Holland Tunnel in an effort to flood the Wall Street financial district has been uncovered by the FBI, with a suspect arrested in Lebanon, New York’s Daily News reported on Friday.
The newspaper, quoting unidentified counterterrorism sources, said the investigation involved what officials considered a “serious plot” to detonate enough explosives inside the landmark tunnel to destroy it and send devastating floodwaters through lower Manhattan.

There was a lot more security at the Tunnel this morning, as it is a pretty obvious target, and it’s closure would be a huge pain. But I guess no one bothered to tell Muhammed that Wall Street is above sea level; maybe he figured that when combined with global warmiing and melting ice caps his cunning plan could not fail…

THS UPdate: What’s THIS I read?

Sen. Charles Schumer (news, bio, voting record), D-N.Y., said, “This is one instance where intelligence was on top of its game and discovered the plot when it was just in the talking phase.“

The FBI was monitoring chat rooms! Listening in! EAVESdropping.
Is M-O-N-I-T-O-R-I-N-G okay now in Chuckie’s eyes?

More Proof Of God

Cullen is very excited about a huge ball of gas zipping through the the universe. And it is pretty neat.
But I have to admit that this is a lot more interesting to me:

Astronomers at the UK’s Jodrell Bank Observatory have discovered what is surely the strongest argument to date in favour of ploughing huge resources into space exploration: a giant “bridge” of methyl alcohol spanning around 288bn miles, within which is nestled a stellar nursery.
The booze cloud was spotted using the UK’s MERLIN radio telescopes in an area of our own galaxy rather uninspiringly called W3(OH). According to the Royal Astronomical Society blurb, this is a region where “stars are being formed by the gravitational collapse of a cloud of gas and dust”.
…Sadly, methyl alcohol is not currently suitable for human consumption, although we have no doubt that by the time mankind develops the technology necessary to reach W3(OH) it will also have evolved the capacity to successfully metabolise this molecule.

We thank you for this bounty that you have laid before us.

Watch Spam

Gawd, this stuff is annoying. I’m cleaning out a couple hundred comments and trackbacks a day.

NOLA stuff….

with interesting graphics.

Eat Dunkin’ Donuts; Screw Tyson Chicken

Look, I’ve already told you that their coffee is excellent. Now there’s this

Beginning today, all 5,000 of Dunkin’ Donuts franchisees will be required to participate in a government database program to verify that workers are here legally. The company was responding to customer concerns about illegal employees.

How cool is that?
Tyson? Goya? We’re waiting.

The New 7 WTC

The first new building at the WTC site, 7, has opened.

The 1.7 million-square-foot, $700 million building stands out downtown largely because it does not stand out. Its glass curtain facade is made of ultra-clear, low-iron glass, making it appear much lighter in color than any of the area’s surrounding buildings. Behind the glass, curved stainless-steel spandrels reflect sky-like blue light back onto the windows.

It’s pretty neat looking. I took this on Tuesday:

It’s Safe To Go Swimming Now, Florida Cracker

This big boy has been caught:

A potential world record hammerhead shark was caught on Wednesday in Boca Grande Pass.
Capt. Andy Whitbread of Fort Myers captured a 13 foot, 4 inch, 750-pound hammerhead. Whitbread used an estimated 12- to 15-pound live crevalle jack as bait and caught the fish on 80-pound class tackle for the potential line-class world record.

I would say he had a boca grande.

Mayor Too Drunk For Breathalyzer

And his name isn’t Kennedy!
(Although the Powers That Be in Hyannis Port are reportedly trying to free up a daughter for him)

Michael Moore Sighted In Mexico?

Famine ensues.

Mayor Noggin’s New Ad Men

To help the public understand this daring and bold new concept, the Mayor has enlisted, at great expense, these experts:

Run Away!

Mayor Noggin’s Brilliant New Plan

Get The F@$# Out

NEW ORLEANS – Mayor Ray Nagin unveiled a new evacuation strategy for New Orleans on Tuesday that relies more on buses and trains and eliminates the Superdome and Convention Center as shelters.*
“There will be no shelter of last resort,” Nagin declared.

*Our inside sources indicate that Katrina eliminated the Superdome and Convention Center as shelters, but we quibble.

Don’t Deny The Allmans Their Due

Or Florida Cracker is gonna be all over your butt.

Members of The Allman Brothers Band and Cheap Trick have filed a class action lawsuit against Sony BMG, alleging the company has underpaid its artists royalties associated with digital music sales.
Songs downloaded from the iTunes Music Store and other commercial music download services routinely cost 99 cents each. Billboard reports that the plaintiffs in the case say they’re receiving a scant 4.5 cents for each digital download of their music, but they claim they’re owed 30 cents per track instead.

And you don’t want her after you.

Hmm, I’ll Have The Steak, Please

Q: How did the sick chicken sign his name?
A: With a Nyquil.

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Authorities have discovered a mild form of avian influenza at a live bird market in New Jersey, but it is not the deadly H5N1 strain governments around the world are trying to contain, the state’s agriculture department said.
“The strain was found in a live bird market in Camden County. None of the birds in the market died from this virus, which is an indicator that the virus was low pathogenic and not harmful to humans,” said a statement by New Jersey’s Agriculture Secretary Charles Kuperus which was posted on Friday.

“Now Where Did I Leave That Bio-Weapon…”

It really is amazing when you keep hearing stories like this:

NEWARK, N.J. – In the past year, two New Jersey laboratories have been unable to account for plague-infested mice and vials of deadly anthrax spores, and top state officials are scrambling to devise better ways to safeguard deadly material.
In both cases, authorities say they think the items in question weren’t actually lost, but were simply unaccounted for due to clerical errors.

“Clerical errors.” They think.
Great…
All this money being spent, and they can’t keep track of anthrax and plague samples?

Hooters Goes Bust

I couldn’t resist saying that.

Dennys: It’s Californian For…

Post Office

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) – A gunman opened fire early Friday morning at a Denny’s restaurant and one man was killed and another seriously wounded, police said. It was the third fatal shooting to occur at the restaurant chain in Southern California this week.

Geesh.
Oh, and nice editorial work on the headline, there, AP: “Anaheim shooting is third at a SoCal Dennis”
Goobers.

I Can’t Find Anything About This

…on MSNBC or CNN, but it could be just me. RadioBlogger’s transcript of Hugh Hewitt’s show yesterday.

HH: Now John Eastman, this is fortuitous. About an hour ago, a release was made in Washington, D.C., announcing the formation of something called the Iraq Study Group, which will consist of James A. Baker and Lee Hamilton, former CIA director Robert Gates, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Clinton advisor Vernon Jordan, Clinton chief of staff Leon Panetta, Clinton Defense Secretary William Perry, Democratic Senator Chuck Robb, retired, Alan Simpson, a Republican, and allegedly, Sandra Day O’Connor is rumored to be about to join this as well. It has been put together under the auspices of the Congressional Institute of Peace, it will be funded by federal dollars. John Eastman, as a Constitutional scholar, what do you think of this, which smacks, I think, of the Committee of Reconstruction from the Civil War, and the Church Committee, and the 9/11 Commission?

UPDATE: Major Dad says he noticed something yesterday, so I came to it a smidge late, ‘twould seem. If the administration once again plays the “Storm? What storm?” “Stuttering economy? What economy?” “Ports? What Ports?” defensive game with this, letting the ‘study group’ dictate policy by virtue of superior airtime, they have no one but themselves to blame. Someone needs to shake the supergenius tree and see if anyone’s on a branch who has a clue.
UPDATE Mark Steyn on Hugh Hewitt, courtesy of the RadioBlogger.

HH:…What’s your reaction to the formation of this group?
MS: Well, the 9/11 Commission is the…I mean, you know me. I’m a foreigner, but I’m pro-American. And yet I must say, the 9/11 Commission is everything I loathe about the United States, in that its legalistic, retrospective, showboating blowhards, pompous people going on TV round the clock. And in effect, it becomes something in and of itself. It’s not just commenting on something like a play by play guy is, but it actually changes the course of the something its commenting on. And that’s what’s bad about this. You know, Iraq isn’t a Broadway play in previews. The show has opened, and it’s on now. So it’s too late to have arguments about this little weak spot in the first act, and we should get it re-written. The show has opened, and the responsibility of these people involved in this, James Baker, Lee Hamilton, Rudy Giuliani, all these people, is that they should now be saying let’s win it, and then have the arguments.

Please Give A Warm Swill Welcome

To the latest member of our blogroll: Careful Thought.
Poor guy is under assault by the Unschooling Army. “Unschooling” is homeschooling without the school, I think. Go look at the FAQ Section and see if you can figure it out. Look, I’m not a big fan of homeschooling, but I think it can succeed with the proper support network and recognition by the parents that it is a heck of a lot of work.
One thing that is clear from reading the comments is that the first thing that is unschooled is manners.

Whew, Dog!

As if being a senior wasn’t stressful enough. I mean, if you have any ambition at all…which I never have. (Pisces ~ we sorta float through life.)

1,600 More SAT Scoring Problems Found
The College Board disclosed Tuesday that an additional 1,600 SAT scores have not been rechecked from an exam in October that had scoring problems.
The previously overlooked batch of answer sheets came from among those being scored separately for a variety of reasons, including security concerns. Some of those scores were on hold and had not been reported, but others may have been reported incorrectly, according to an e-mail sent to college admissions officers and guidance counselors early Tuesday. The statement also was posted on the College Board’s Web site.

A Bummer

Our good friend Wunderkraut is going on hiatus for awhile. Please stop by and thank him for his efforts and encourage him to return!