tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-107028222024-03-26T03:53:51.973-05:00Assumption of Command<b>Blogging from the Cradle of Civilization. Getting more and more civilized everyday.</b>
<br /><i>Remaining Unanimously Anonymous.</i>Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03031331330383229930noreply@blogger.comBlogger33125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10702822.post-34539551631567017942009-04-21T18:18:00.002-05:002009-04-21T18:22:32.221-05:00Still Among the LivingHello to all the automated spambots that still frequent this blog! Just an update for anyone who still checks in from time to time -- Mustang and I are still alive and kicking. He's enjoying the civilian life, and I'm adjusting to <a href="http://emilyanddavid.blogspot.com">fatherhood</a>. All is well, and your continued good wishes are much appreciated.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">"They have the internet on computers now?!" -- Homer Simpson</span>Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03031331330383229930noreply@blogger.com88tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10702822.post-1151372740558359852006-06-26T20:36:00.000-05:002006-06-26T20:57:18.226-05:00Peeking From Behind The CurtainHi. Dave here. I just figured I'd pop in to see who, if anyone, still looks at this blog. I realize it's gone a <span style="font-style: italic;">tad</span> inactive over the last few months. Rest assured that Mustang is surviving and thriving in the civilian world. I'm muddling through as well, with little of consequence to report, other than what Em covers <a href="http://grammar-nerd.blogspot.com/2006/06/president-confessed-to-having-had.html">here</a>.<br /><br />Well, that and <a href="http://grammar-nerd.blogspot.com/2006/05/ooh-sparkly.html">this</a>.Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03031331330383229930noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10702822.post-1130525236318121772005-10-28T13:46:00.000-05:002005-10-28T13:47:16.346-05:00Simpsons Quote Friday<em><span style="font-family:arial;">Offered without context or explanation.</span></em><br /><blockquote><span style="font-family:arial;">There's no sugar in Pixie Stix!"<br />--<em>Bart Simpson</em></span></blockquote>Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03031331330383229930noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10702822.post-1130043391915294662005-10-22T23:53:00.000-05:002005-10-22T23:56:31.936-05:00Simpsons Quote Saturday<em><span style="font-family:arial;">Offered without context or explanation.</span></em><br /><blockquote><span style="font-family:arial;">Tonight a city weeps, as, for the first time ever, a hockey arena becomes the scene of violence following a concert by Spinal Tap."<br />--<em>News Anchor Kent Brockman</em></span></blockquote>Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03031331330383229930noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10702822.post-1129387244492391582005-10-15T09:30:00.000-05:002005-10-15T09:44:47.566-05:00Simpsons Quote Friday/Saturday Lives!<em><span style="font-family:arial;">Offered without context or explanation.</span></em><br /><blockquote><span style="font-family:arial;">All normal people love meat. If I went to a barbeque and there was no meat, I would say, 'Yo Goober! Where's the meat!?'. I'm trying to impress people here, Lisa. You don't win friends with salad!"<br />-- <em>Homer Simpson</em></span><br /></blockquote>Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03031331330383229930noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10702822.post-1129242210959918822005-10-13T17:17:00.000-05:002005-10-13T17:23:30.990-05:00Technical Difficulties<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2357/1394/1600/9f04.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2357/1394/320/9f04.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div align="center"><span style="font-family:arial;">We'll be back as soon as we get everything worked out<br />-- The Management</span></div>Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03031331330383229930noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10702822.post-1128181074767299982005-10-07T10:36:00.000-05:002005-10-09T19:35:38.456-05:00Simpsons Quote Friday<em><span style="font-family:arial;">Offered without context or explanation.</span></em><br /><blockquote><span style="font-family:arial;">Hey Marge, remember when we used to make out to this hymn?"<br />--<em>Homer Simpson</em></span></blockquote>Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03031331330383229930noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10702822.post-1128180840640238272005-10-01T10:27:00.000-05:002005-10-01T10:34:00.653-05:00Simpsons Quote Saturday<em><span style="font-family:arial;">Offered without context or explanation.</span></em><br /><blockquote><span style="font-family:arial;">I know one of you is responsible for this, so repeat after me: If I withhold the truth, may I go straight to Hell, where I will eat naught but burning hot coals and drink naught but burning hot cola; where fiery demons will punch me in the back; where my soul will be chopped into confetti and strewn upon a parade of murderers and single mothers; where my tongue will be torn out by ravenous birds!"<br />--<em>Reverend Timothy Lovejoy, addressing the children in his congregation.</em></span></blockquote>Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03031331330383229930noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10702822.post-1127947066028831282005-09-28T17:33:00.000-05:002005-09-28T18:03:05.453-05:00Caption Contest Winners<span style="font-family:Arial;">Yes, I'm still here. No, I haven't been ignoring you. Well, yes, I <em>have</em> been ignoring you, but I've had good reason, and regardless, it's nothing personal. Anyway, winners have been posted for both the <a href="http://assumecommand.blogspot.com/2005/09/whos-afraid-of-big-bad-wolves-bonus.html">bonus</a> and <a href="http://assumecommand.blogspot.com/2005/09/grab-hold-of-this-caption-contest.html">regularly scheduled</a> caption contests. Congratulations to me and all the other winners!</span>Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03031331330383229930noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10702822.post-1127656102481555722005-09-25T08:27:00.000-05:002005-09-25T14:45:42.450-05:00"Think of it as Star Wars, if Han Solo were the main character, and he still shot Greedo first."*<span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><blockquote><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Arial;">Here's how it is: The Earth got used up, so we moved out and terraformed a whole new galaxy of Earths -- some, rich and flush with the new technologies, some, not so much. The central planets, them that formed the Alliance, waged war to bring everyone under their rule. A few idiots tried to fight it, among them, myself. I'm Malcolm Reynolds, captain of <em>Serenity</em>. She's a transport ship, Firefly class. We got a good crew: fighters, pilot, mechanic. We even picked up a preacher, for some reason, and a bona fide Companion. There's a doctor, too -- took his genius sister out of some Alliance camp, so they're keeping a low profile, you understand. You got a job, we can do it. Don't much care what it is."<br />--<em>Malcolm Reynolds, narrating at the opening of each episode of</em> Firefly</span></span></blockquote></span><br /></span><span style="font-family:Arial;">I don't go to the movies very often anymore. I think it has something to do with having worked at a movie theater. You know how people who used to work at, say, Wendy's oftentimes will make a point of <em>never</em> eating at Wendy's? Especially upon finding out how the chili is prepared? It's the same with me -- after having been a bow tie & vest-wearing monkey behind the box office glass at the AMC Ward Parkway, I have a hard time going to a theater without suffering flashbacks: </span><br /></span><span style="font-family:Arial;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;"><em>"I want two adults and three children to 'Striptease'." </em></span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;"><em>"It was too dark in the theater; I want my money back!" </em></span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;"><em>"What do you mean, 'A Mid-Continent Public Library card is not a student ID.'!?"</em></span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">You people can be really irritating sometimes! You've ruined the allure of the movies for me. Well, you and the fact that I used to be able to get in for free, and have grown averse to paying.</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">(It wasn't all bad, though. As a twenty-two year old college graduate with a degree in chemical engineering, I got to scare the living hell out of a bunch of teenagers by telling them that if they stayed in school and studied hard, they could end up in the box office, just like me! I take my entertainment where I can get it.)</span><br /></span></span><span style="font-family:arial;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Anyway, I can count the number of movies I've seen in the theater over the last two years on one hand (and one of those -- Episode 3 -- I wish I could <em>un</em>-see). But, Tuesday night, I'm heading back to the scene of so many nightmares, and will do so happily in order to attend a bloggers-only press screening of Joss Whedon's <em><a href="http://www.serenitymovie.com">Serenity</a></em>!</span><br /></span><span style="font-family:Arial;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;">Why get so excited about a movie based on a television show that was cancelled after only eleven episodes? Because they were a really <em>good</em> eleven episodes, and because I'm convinced that if the programming executives at Fox weren't collectively brain dead (whose idea was it to air the two-hour pilot episode <em>last</em>?), the show would have caught on in a big way. Because those of us who watched the show and made the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0000AQS0F/qid=1127675977/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_1/002-0389344-9465618?v=glance&s=dvd&n=507846">DVD release</a> of the series a surprise hit worked hard to make such a movie possible. Because I believe that there's a place for smart dialogue, imaginative storytelling, fully-realized characters and settings, and a quirky sensibility in cinema. Because the character of mercenary Jayne Cobb is worth the price of admission.</span><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;">Regardless, <em><a href="http://www.serenitymovie.com">Serenity</a></em> is the one movie being released this fall that I'm really looking forward to, and thanks to this blogging gig, I get to see it in advance (and for free! Thanks guys!). Actually, thanks to this blogging gig, Em gets to see it in advance, too (the studio is hosting these blogger screenings all over the country)</span><span style="font-family:arial;">. She and I will both be posting our reviews after seeing the film -- me here, and Em at her blog, <a href="http://grammar-nerd.blogspot.com/">"Random Musings of a Grammar Nerd."</a></span><span style="font-family:arial;">. Until then, check out the movie's <a href="http://www.serenitymovie.com">web site</a>, read the studio's capsule summary of the film below, and <a href="http://movies.aol.com/movie/main.adp?tab=showtimes&mid=19349">purchase your tickets</a> for the premiere on Friday, Sept. 30!</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><blockquote><span style="font-family:arial;">Joss Whedon, the Oscar® - and Emmy - nominated writer/director responsible for the worldwide television phenomena of BUFFY THE VAMPIRE, ANGEL and FIREFLY, now applies his trademark compassion and wit to a small band of galactic outcasts 500 years in the future in his feature film directorial debut, Serenity. The film centers around Captain Malcolm Reynolds, a hardened veteran (on the losing side) of a galactic civil war, who now ekes out a living pulling off small crimes and transport-for-hire aboard his ship, Serenity. He leads a small, eclectic crew who are the closest thing he has left to family – squabbling, insubordinate and undyingly loyal."</span></blockquote></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">*<em><span style="font-size:85%;">I can't come up with a better one-sentence description of the much loved, much cancelled television show, Firefly. It's not my one sentence description, of course; I stole it from an M.E. Russell </span></em></span><a href="http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/005/757fhfxg.asp"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><em>article</em></span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><em> at The Weekly Standard. But it captures the spirit of the show.</em></span>Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03031331330383229930noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10702822.post-1127453272975956552005-09-23T00:24:00.000-05:002005-09-23T00:27:52.986-05:00Simpsons Quote Friday<em><span style="font-family:arial;">Offered without context or explanation.</span></em><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><blockquote><span style="font-family:arial;">Oh, Mr. Pigeon, I'd kiss you if you weren't swimming with disease!"<br />--<em>Lisa Simpson</em></span> </blockquote></span>Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03031331330383229930noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10702822.post-1127362457723583112005-09-21T23:03:00.000-05:002005-09-28T18:12:34.306-05:00Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolves? -- A Bonus Caption Contest<div align="left"><span style="font-family:arial;">From my personal photo archive, and based on a true story:</span><br /><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2357/1394/1600/wolf.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2357/1394/400/wolf.jpg" border="0" /> </div><p align="center"></a></p><p align="center"><em><span style="font-family:arial;"><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">Winner (as promised):<br /></span></strong>Mmm ... lunch!.<br /></span></em><strong><span style="font-family:arial;">Dave<br /></span></strong><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><strong><em><span style="color:#ff0000;">The "Moral Victory" Runner-up Award</span></em></strong><br /></span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><em>Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death ...</em></span></span> <center><span style="font-family:arial;"></span></center><center><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><strong>SK<br /></strong><br /><span style="color:#ff0000;"><em><strong>The Originality Award</strong></em></span><br /><em>Mmm ... breakfast! </em><br /></span><strong><span style="font-size:85%;">Mustang 23</span></strong><br /><br /></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><strong><em><span style="color:#ff0000;">The "Truth in Advertising" Award</span></em></strong><br /><em>It looks like a rat on stilts. You nudge it and I'll yell TIMBER!</em><br /></span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><strong><span style="font-family:Arial;">Ric</span></strong> </span></center><center></center><center></center><p align="center"></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><strong><em><span style="color:#ff0000;">The "Short Man's Syndrome" Award</span></em></strong><br /><em>In spite of his small stature, the Drill Sergeant was clearly in charge.</em><br /></span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><strong><span style="font-family:Arial;">Mustang Sarge</span></strong> </span></p>Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03031331330383229930noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10702822.post-1127187972552558972005-09-19T22:43:00.000-05:002005-09-19T22:46:12.566-05:00Challenge Issued, Challenge Met<span style="font-family:arial;">To answer your question, Mustang: Yes, I can.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;"></span><br /><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2357/1394/1600/thing.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2357/1394/320/thing.jpg" border="0" /></a>Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03031331330383229930noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10702822.post-1126870240909352372005-09-16T06:26:00.000-05:002005-09-16T06:30:40.936-05:00Simpsons Quote Friday<em><span style="font-family:Arial;">Offered without context or explanation.</span></em><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;"></span><br /><blockquote><span style="font-family:Arial;">Know ye who read this, there is more to my life than history records. Firstly, I did not tame the legendary buffalo. It was already tame; I merely shot it."<br />--<em>Jebediah Springfield, famed pioneer and founder of the town of Springfield</em></span></blockquote>Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03031331330383229930noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10702822.post-1126652706489426512005-09-13T17:12:00.000-05:002005-09-13T23:49:02.776-05:00"Random Dave Stuff," Part 1 -- An Encounter With Warren Buffett<span style="font-family:arial;">For the past two years, I've been in the MBA program at the University of Kansas. This has afforded me the opportunity to have some very long days (I take classes at night, after work), and to feel the wrath of Mustang 23, who isn't what you'd call a "fan" of the Jayhawks. But it has also allowed me to spend some time -- "hobnob," if you will -- with various fat-cats. And cats don't come much fatter than the CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, Warren Buffett. He's known as The Oracle of Omaha, The Wizard of Wall Street, That Guy Who Looks Like My Cousin Martin. He's considered to be the greatest investor in history, and, with a net worth of $43 billion, is the second richest person in the world. Through Berkshire, he owns GEICO, Dairy Queen, Fruit of the Loom, Helzberg Diamonds, The Pampered Chef, Nebraska Furniture Mart, 8% of Coca-Cola, 12% of American Express, 10% of Gillette, 21% of the Washington Post, and, just for giggles, ACME Brick.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;">Otherwise, he's just like you and me.</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Through my MBA program, I've had the opportunity to see him twice. The first time was in April, at Berkshire Hathaway's Annual Shareholders Meeting. I am not a shareholder, mind you -- at roughly $83,000 per share, it's a bit outside my pay grade (though they do offer "Class B" shares designed to be affordable for the average investor -- $2,700 per share). However, my Investments professor managed to procure a couple hundred passes, and made attendance 15% of our grade. </span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">"Find a hotel room in Omaha for the night before, because I need you in line at the Qwest Center by 5 am." he said. "When the doors open at seven, run like hell for stage left on the arena floor, and start posting these 'Reserved' signs on as many chairs as you can. I want the entire class together and within ten rows of the stage. Kick the canes out from under the old people, if you have to; just make it happen!" </span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;">Good professor. I learned a lot from him.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;">Anyway, I spent the day listening to Warren Buffett talk about this and that, and got to sit ten yards, one barrier fence, and a glowering bodyguard away from Bill Gates (who is on the Berkshire Hathaway Board of Directors). I roamed the exhibit floor, where various Berkshire-owned companies had set up displays, but was disappointed at the amount and quality of the swag to be had. It was amusing, though, </span><span style="font-family:arial;">to see some of the wealthiest people in the world (to stereotype the average Berkshire meeting attendee) crawling all over one another to grab armfuls of inexpensive underwear from the Fruit of the Loom kiosk.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;">That was my first run-in with Mr. Buffett. Fast forward to the end of the semester: my Investments prof again arranged for the class to go to Omaha, this time for a ninety-minute Q&A session with Warren Buffett at Berkshire World Headquarters. This, too, was 15% of my grade, so I took a vacation day, drove to Lawrence on a Friday morning to meet the charter bus, and managed to lock my keys in my car. I learned that day that it is absurdly, frighteningly easy to break into a locked late-model automobile -- all you need is a blood pressure cuff and a fishing pole. Take the blood pressure cuff, insert it into the seam between the door and ...</span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;">Wait. I'm getting off track, aren't I? Let's try this again.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;">So, once again, I found myself going to Omaha for an audience with Cousin Martin. Wait, no ... I mean, with Warren Buffett. Sorry. My Investments professor instructed us to bring questions, as well as a digital camera. I took this picture of Warren Buffett drinking a Coke:</span><br /><br /><br /><p align="center"><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2357/1394/1600/coke.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2357/1394/320/coke.jpg" border="0" /></a></p><span style="font-family:Arial;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;">Here's a picture I took of him eating a Dairy Queen sundae in front of us:</span><br /><br /><p align="center"><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2357/1394/1600/sundae.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2357/1394/320/sundae.jpg" border="0" /></a></p><span style="font-family:Arial;">Buffett's kinda shameless about product placement.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;">My professor also advised us to bring a book for Warren Buffett to sign. Now, I don't own any books by or about Warren Buffett, as I lamented to my as-of-then still local girlfriend, Emily. She surprised </span><span style="font-family:arial;">me by making a beeline for her bookcase and pulling a Buffett book right off the shelf, and suggested that I take it with me to Omaha. I did so, but didn't have an opportunity to have Warren sign it, as we ran out of time. He did, however, have us leave them with his secretary, and promised to sign them and ship them back to Lawrence. He even told us to include a note with instructions on how we would like the autographs personalized.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">The semester ended, and months passed. Word came that Em's book had returned from Omaha, but I was unable to find my way to Lawrence to retrieve it. The fall semester started, and, wonder of wonders, one of my classmates who lives in Lawrence was nice enough to ferry it to Kansas City. Check it out!</span><br /><br /><p><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2357/1394/1600/auto1.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2357/1394/320/auto1.jpg" border="0" /></a> </p><p align="left"><span style="font-family:arial;">In case you can't make it out, that says, "To Emily - Warren Buffett." I figured it was her book, after all, so I should have Warren personalize it for her. Of course, by the time I got the book back, she had moved, so I wasn't able to get it to her until Labor Day weekend (when I left Ft. Livingroom to spend three days at FOB Em's Townhouse). She seemed pretty pleased with it.</span></p><p align="left"><span style="font-family:arial;">By now, you might be wondering which Buffett book I had Warren sign. Well, wonder no longer; it was this one:</span></p><p><span style="font-family:Arial;"></span></p><p><br /></p><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2357/1394/1600/cover.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2357/1394/320/cover.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">I'm just disappointed that Warren didn't follow my suggestion and sign it: </span><br /><div align="center"><span style="font-family:arial;">"To Emily:</span><span style="font-family:arial;"> Keep searching for that lost shaker of salt. </span><span style="font-family:arial;">-- Warren Buffett "</span></div>Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03031331330383229930noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10702822.post-1126582043575270142005-09-12T22:18:00.000-05:002005-09-12T22:28:25.866-05:00The Barnyard Animal of the Day is ...<span style="font-family:arial;">... the emu. This is an emu:</span><br /><br /><p><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2357/1394/1600/emu1.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2357/1394/320/emu1.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Like all worthwhile creatures, emus were named after the sound they make. You'll know you're in the presence of an emu when you hear its majestic call, which goes a bit like this:</span></p><p align="center"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:180%;">E-Moooooooooo!</span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;"></span><br /></p><span style="font-family:Arial;">(This knowledge proves to be especially useful in later verses of "Old Macdonald Had a Farm.")</span>Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03031331330383229930noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10702822.post-1126359453967446242005-09-10T08:31:00.000-05:002005-09-10T08:38:55.276-05:00Simpsons Quote Fri ... er, Saturday<em><span style="font-family:arial;">Offered without context or explanation.</span></em><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-family:arial;"></span><blockquote><span style="font-family:arial;">Ah, there's nothing more exciting than science. You get all the fun of sitting still, being quiet, writing down numbers, paying attention. Science has it all."<em><br />-- Principal Seymour Skinner</em></span></blockquote></span>Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03031331330383229930noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10702822.post-1125635472880471492005-09-01T23:28:00.000-05:002005-09-02T00:16:01.696-05:00Simpsons Quote Friday<em><span style="font-family:arial;">Offered without context or explanation</span></em><br /><blockquote><p>Authorities say the phony pope can be recognized by his high-top sneakers and incredibly foul mouth."<br />--<em> Local news anchor Kent Brockman</em></p></blockquote>Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03031331330383229930noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10702822.post-1125461627267055802005-08-30T22:58:00.000-05:002005-08-30T23:14:15.526-05:00Hurricane Relief<span style="font-family:arial;">I'm finding it hard to fathom the sheer scale of what's happening in New Orleans and along the Gulf Coast of Mississippi and Alabama. The toll exacted by Hurricane Katrina, in general human misery and loss of life & property, is staggering. For those interested in making a donation to the relief efforts, Glenn Reynolds at Instapundit has put together a <a href="http://instapundit.com/archives/025235.php">list</a> of some agencies that are and will be providing aid.</span>Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03031331330383229930noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10702822.post-1125027389066628522005-08-25T22:30:00.000-05:002005-08-25T22:36:29.076-05:00Simpsons Quote Friday<em><span style="font-family:arial;">Offered without context or explanation.</span></em><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"></span></span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><blockquote><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Arial;">Oh, hi. I'm Troy McClure. You might remember me from such self-help videos as 'Smoke Yourself Thin' and 'Get Confident, Stupid!'"</span><br /><em><span style="font-family:Arial;">-- Troy McClure</span></em></span></blockquote></span><em></em></span>Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03031331330383229930noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10702822.post-1124853736020910552005-08-23T22:21:00.000-05:002005-08-23T22:31:53.776-05:00On Oil, Tulips, and Shark Attacks<span style="font-family:arial;">$2.54. </span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">That's how much regular unleaded gasoline costs (per gallon) at the Conoco on the corner. I don't enjoy paying that much. But I've always believed, generally speaking, that gas prices are rational. When others speak of vast oil-wing conspiracies that explain the rise in price around Memorial Day, Labor Day, etc., I counter with a supply and demand argument. I don't do so out of any great love for the oil industry (though it did indirectly pay for my graduate degree. Thanks Exxon!), but rather because it's a simpler explanation that better fits the data.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;">In this instance, however, I don't think there's a rational explanation for the rise in oil prices. Yes, demand is rising in India and China. Yes, there have been minor production disruptions at several American refineries (which wouldn't be an issue if a single formulation of gasoline could be used for the entire country). But these are not sufficient to explain the sharp rise in prices seen over the last several months. </span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;">Ultimately, I think a lot of the price increase is due to good, old fashioned hysteria. Hysteria that war & terrorism will stall production. Hysteria that China will buy U.S. oil companies and horde the output. Hysteria that the world is running out of oil.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">But, slowly, economic opinion seems to be addressing some of these wilder perceptions. </span><span style="font-family:arial;">First, economist Steven Levitt likens the notion that we're running out of oil to the media-driven fear of shark attacks.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;"><a href="http://www.freakonomics.com/2005/08/peak-oil-welcome-to-medias-new-version.html">"Peak Oil:" Welcome to the media's new version of shark attacks</a> </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><blockquote><span style="font-family:arial;">The idea behind 'peak oil' is that the world has been on a path of increasing oil production for many years, and now we are about to peak and go into a situation where there are dwindling reserves, leading to triple-digit prices for a barrel of oil, an unparalleled worldwide depression, and as one </span><a href="http://www.lifeaftertheoilcrash.net/"><span style="font-family:arial;">web page</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"> puts it, 'Civilization as we know it is coming to an end soon.' </span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">One might think that doomsday proponents would be chastened by the long history of people of their ilk being wrong: Nostradamus, Malthus, Paul Ehrlich, etc. Clearly they are not.</span><br /><br />[...]<br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">High prices lead people to develop substitutes. Which is exactly why we don't need to panic over peak oil in the first place.So why do I compare peak oil to shark attacks? It is because shark attacks mostly stay about constant, but fear of them goes up sharply when the media decides to report on them. The same thing, I bet, will now happen with peak oil. I expect tons of copycat journalism stoking the fears of consumers about oil induced catastrophe, even though nothing fundamental has changed in the oil outlook in the last decade."</span></span></blockquote><span style="font-family:arial;">Meanwhile, Scott Cramer at Optionetics says the present situation is more like Holland's tulip mania.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;"><a href="http://www.optionetics.com/articles/article_full.asp?idNo=13081">The Black Bubble</a></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><blockquote><span style="font-family:arial;">Everyone from nobility to gardeners began to rationalize investing in the bulbs as a smart investment, and the continuously rising prices seemed to justify these as smart investments. Eventually things got so out of control with demand that a single bulb could command as much as $80,000 converted into today's U.S. Dollars. At the peak in January 1637 there was a twenty-fold increase in the price of bulbs. </span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Much like how people could rationalize taking equity out of their homes at 7% to invest in NASDAQ stocks in the late 1990s, many 17th century people in Holland sold their homes, thinking that a few bulbs would net them two homes in a few months’ time. Eventually the laws of gravity took affect and what was once a market with only buyers became a market with only sellers.</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Realizing the potential catastrophic affect a crash would have on an economy focused on one product, the Dutch government stepped in made a public statement declaring that there was no reason why the price of tulips should fall. Not surprisingly, government reassurances didn't work as hoped, so the government stepped in and guaranteed the price of tulip bulbs at 10% of the high price. Not long after that tulips fell through the government's floor price, which nearly bankrupted Holland's government.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;">[...]</span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">One reason why bubbles form is that many good arguments can be made for 'why this time things are different.' Generally speaking, as a whole, the public is not crazy. The media sells people on the best or worst case scenarios. For the last 70+ years people have heard reports from so-called specialists about how there is only so much oil in the world, and eventually it has to run out. Yet if you look at the predictions the specialists have made about when the last drop of oil will be pumped out of the ground, you notice that every couple of years the date gets extended out a few more years."</span></blockquote></span><span style="font-family:Arial;">Regardless, my next car will <em>still</em> be a hybrid!</span>Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03031331330383229930noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10702822.post-1124650752776216472005-08-21T13:44:00.000-05:002005-08-21T16:18:58.150-05:00The Streak Is Over (Pt. 2)!<span style="font-family:Arial;">And this time, I <em>am</em> talking about the Royals' losing streak. Nineteen games. They lost <em>nineteen games</em> in a row! But, for some reason, that doesn't sound anywhere near as bad as losing 20+ in a row. It's just nice to know I'm rooting for a team that is merely one of the worst in history, and not <em>the</em> worst.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;">Regardless, the streak is over, <a href="http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/sports/12437875.htm">the bubbly was flowing</a> in the Royals' clubhouse, and I no longer have to avoid Sportscenter. More importantly, my girlfriend no longer has to listen to me whine about how the Royals have lost every game since she moved out-of-state!</span>Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03031331330383229930noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10702822.post-1124423782790256962005-08-18T22:28:00.000-05:002005-08-18T22:58:05.546-05:00No, It's Not A Disco Ball.<span style="font-family:arial;">Finally! A year after it was approved by voters, Kansas City's Sprint Center has a design. </span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;"><a href="http://www.yourkcarena.com/media.htm">Downtown Arena Design Team Unveils Sprint Center</a></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><blockquote><span style="font-family:arial;">'The taut glass skin wrapping the seating bowl and concourses will be an ever-changing tapestry as light plays across the surface,' said designer Brad Clark. 'The image will vary hour by hour as the color, intensity and quality of light change. At night the building will become a beacon, marking its place in our new downtown.'"</span></span></blockquote><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;"></span><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2357/1394/1600/arena1.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2357/1394/400/arena1.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2357/1394/1600/arena2.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2357/1394/400/arena2.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2357/1394/1600/arena3.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2357/1394/400/arena3.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><p><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">I like it. Now to settle the <em>real</em> question: Who begins play in 2008 -- the NBA's Kansas City Magic or the NHL's Kansas City Hurricanes?</span></p>Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03031331330383229930noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10702822.post-1124421822249770052005-08-18T22:21:00.000-05:002005-08-18T22:23:42.266-05:00Simpsons Quote Friday<em><span style="font-family:arial;">Offered without context or explanation.</span></em><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;"><blockquote><span style="font-family:Arial;">Me fail English? That's unpossible!"</span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;"><em>-- Ralph Wiggum</em></span><br /></blockquote></span>Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03031331330383229930noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10702822.post-1124253005000565072005-08-16T23:26:00.000-05:002005-08-16T23:31:47.126-05:00Keep Tribal Names; Ban "Golden Gophers" Instead<span style="font-family:arial;">The story so far: On August 5, the NCAA </span><a href="http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050805/ap_on_sp_co_ne/ncaa_indian_nicknames_9"><span style="font-family:arial;">decreed</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"> that the use of certain American Indian team names and mascots would be banned during post-season tournaments. At least 18 schools had names and/or mascots that were deemed "hostile" and "abusive", including, most famously, the Seminoles of Florida State and the University of Illinois Illini.<br /><br />Not content to be dictated to by the NCAA, the universities in question have begun to push back. Among the more notable responses is the open letter from Charles E. Kupchella, president of the University of North Dakota (home of the Fighting Sioux):<br /><br /></span><a href="http://www.und.edu/president/html/statements/NCAAletter.html"><span style="font-family:arial;">An Open Letter to the NCAA</span></a><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><blockquote><span style="font-family:arial;">Is it the use of the names of tribes that you find hostile and abusive?</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Not long ago I took a trip to make a proposal to establish an epidemiological program to support American Indian health throughout the Upper Great Plains. On this trip I left a state called North Dakota. (Dakota is one of the names the indigenous people of this region actually call themselves.) I flew over South Dakota, crossing the Sioux River several times, and finally landed in Sioux City, Iowa, just south of Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The airplane in which I traveled that day was called a Cheyenne."</span></span></blockquote><span style="font-family:arial;">Read the whole thing.</span>Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03031331330383229930noreply@blogger.com0