Fed Cuts Interest Rate Below 0%

"Desperate times call for desperate measures," says Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke.

WASHINGTON - After the meeting of the Federal Reserve Board this afternoon, the Fed has announced that it is cutting its funds rate to -0.5% for the first time in history. "Given the current economy's sluggishness, we thought it would be a good idea to literally pay people to take our money," commented Bernanke at a press conference to announce the decision, "Hopefully, this will restart consumer spending without consumers having to worry about where they will get the money to pay off the loan, not that they really ever worry about that anyway. Instead, the consumer can focus on making purchases, secure in the knowledge that the loan will actually get smaller over time." When asked about the danger of consumers making no maintenance payments on the loan, but letting the loan simply dissipate over time, Bernanke dismissed the idea. "Negative interest just doesn't work that way. We have a whole new paradigm to work with. It's an actual example of the cricket that always jumps half the distance and can never get to his target." After letting his eyes glaze over while doing some quick math in his head, the Fed chief finished by stating, "besides, at a mere negative half point, even after fifty years, less than a third of the debt will have paid itself off; at that point, you're applying barely over 30 cents on the thousand dollars. It would be several hundred years before you would even start to have significant rounding errors."

Alternative Medicine

The Heart: Have you ever been to the chiropractor?

The Brain: No. Well, yes, but only for a deposition.

The Heart: That is not exactly what I meant.

The Brain: I know, that is why I said "no" first.

Abstract Thoughts

"If I had a hundred dollars for every time I wanted a hundred dollars, I would have spent all my hundred dollarses, and would have nothing."

(The Brain while pondering Christmas presents for the family)

Lost Church

Russian church 'taken by thieves'

A 200-year-old church building has disappeared from a village in central Russia, officials from the Russian Orthodox Church say.

The building had stood near the village of Komarovo since 1809.

It was intact in July but some time in early October thieves made off with it brick by brick, they said.

Local prosecutors had been informed and an investigation was under way, a spokesman for the local Russian Orthodox Church said.

The disappearance of the Church of the Resurrection, some 300 km (186 miles) north-east of Moscow, was not immediately noticed.

It was in an out-of-the-way area and was not being used, although Church officials were considering resuming services there.

Now all that remained of the two-storey building - a school before it was turned over to the Church - were its foundations and some sections of wall, the Church said.

Thieves often target churches in rural Russia. Religious icons can be sold and church structures sold off for building materials.

Story from BBC NEWS

Compare:

Ours may be leaner and have slightly more pronounced pects, but theirs has more solid abs and thicker arms.

We're doomed.

Seriously...

Seriously, who builds a space-time fluctuation sensor? And how would anyone know that it's important to build one, anyway, at least in their own timeline, since anyone who gets sucked away in a space-time fluctuation should just disappear in a way that is not otherwise detectable. (So I suppose the sensor could be developed just out of a sense of paranoia...)

Bumper Sticker of the Day

Virginia Makes Wine

Napa Makes Auto Parts

Quote of the Week

Kosovo edition:

"Whatever the reason for the coalition victory, everybody was perfectly willing to take credit for it. The Air Force took credit for achieving the first "pure air power victory" in the history of armed conflict. The Navy took credit for the first maritime victory ever won without a single naval engagement. The Army took credit for the greatest air and naval victory ever commanded by an Army general. The White House took credit for the greatest military victory achieved under a Democratic administration since Franklin Roosevelt's.

"No good guys got killed in combat. Not all that many bad guys died either. In all... Kosovo was a perfect little war to end the twentieth century with."

--Jeff Huber, Bathtub Admirals

X-Rays & Shoes - from the VA Code

§ 18.2-321. Using X ray, fluoroscope, etc., in the fitting of footwear.

It shall be unlawful for any person to use any X ray, fluoroscope, or other equipment or apparatus employing roentgen rays, in the fitting of shoes or other footwear. This section shall not apply to any licensed physician or surgeon in the practice of his profession. Any person violating the provisions of this section shall be guilty of a Class 3 misdemeanor.

(Code 1950, § 18.1-416; 1960, c. 358; 1975, cc. 14, 15.)

The Brain: I'm sure radiation is dangerous and all, but banning the use of x-rays for sales of shoes only? They could at least also include hat sales...

The Heart: Why not make it purses, scarves, and umbrellas too?

Hail to the Chief

Language like this is what keeps legal opinions from getting too dry. Nice to see it from the Supreme Court, not just the lower courts. Enjoy Detective Noir, a la the Chief Justice:

North Philly, May 4, 2001. Officer Sean Devlin, Narcotics Strike Force, was working the morning shift. Undercover surveillance. The neighborhood? Tough as a threedollar steak. Devlin knew. Five years on the beat, nine months with the Strike Force. He'd made fifteen, twenty drug busts in the neighborhood.

Devlin spotted him: a lone man on the corner. Another approached. Quick exchange of words. Cash handed over; small objects handed back. Each man then quickly on his own way. Devlin knew the guy wasn't buying bus tokens. He radioed a description and Officer Stein picked up the buyer. Sure enough: three bags of crack in the guy's pocket. Head downtown and book him. Just another day at the office.

Cert denial of Pennsylvania v. Dunlap (U.S. 2008) (Roberts, C.J., dissenting)

Mother Always Told Me Not To Drop My H-s

Israelis digest Kouchner 'H-bomb'

Some Israelis may have choked on their breakfast when a newspaper headline quoted France's foreign minister saying Israel might devour its arch foe, Iran.

Hebrew daily Haaretz splashed across its front page that Bernard Kouchner said Israel might "eat" the Islamic Republic before it got nuclear arms.

The following day Haaretz apologised, saying Mr Kouchner, speaking in English, had actually said "hit".

Mr Kouchner also offered a diplomatic apology for the "phonetic confusion".

When Mr Kouchner was asked about the possibility of Tehran developing a nuclear weapon, the Hebrew and English editions of Haaretz newspaper quoted him saying:

"I honestly don't believe that it will give any immunity to Iran.

First, because you [Israelis] will eat them before."

He went on to say: "And this is the danger. Israel has always said it will not wait for the bomb to be ready. I think that [the Iranians] know. Everyone knows."

The comments were published on Sunday, as Mr Kouchner ended a two-day visit to the region, under the headline in Hebrew saying "You will eat Iran before it achieves an atomic bomb".

On Monday, the paper published a correction and apologised for the "misunderstanding", but it also said the transcription had been cleared with Mr Kouchner's office prior to publication.

The paper did not explain how the mistake had occurred, but dropping the "h" is widely seen as a feature of English spoken with a French accent.

Haaretz's current English online version of the story - with "hit" rather than "eat" - makes no mention of the earlier confusion.

It could be said any levity about the misquote belies the seriousness of the issue it relates to. The US, Israel and their western allies say they believe Iran is seeking nuclear weapons, an accusation Tehran strongly denies.

Israel, the region's sole if undeclared nuclear power, has raised the possibility it might launch a pre-emptive strike against Iran to prevent it from becoming nuclear-armed.

~BBC News

How would you celebrate a worldwide flood?

Quote of the Week

"You can't have your cake and choke on it, too"

--Mel Gibson, describing the lesson of Hamlet

How much is a kid worth these days?

Bassinet Sales Halted

Under new Consumer Protection powers barely two weeks old, the federal CPSC has issued a "pull off the shelves and refund existing models" order for 900,000 multiuse baby bassinets. The move was prompted because a baby apparently managed to strangle itself on a metal bar. Additionally, the agency noted that there had been another infant death a year ago, but is reported to have declined to discuss that matter because it is an "ongoing investigation."

A quick Froogle search reveals that these particular bassinets run about $100 each.

Traffic cameras

Here is an article illustrating one of the downsides of traffic cameras - lack of instant feedback.  Traditional "in person" traffic enforcement leaves you remembering the encounter, and, often, chiding yourself and promising to do better.  Additionally, everybody else sees that someone is pulled over, and they remember that it could be them.

Cameras, however, catch everyone who breaks the law (leaving aside the actually very significant issue of whether assuming that a license plate number identifies the individual driving)... and they don't even know it.  And if, as in the article, you aren't receiving the summonses in the mail, you would never have any feedback.  Until the day you actually get pulled over - the old fashioned way - and get arrested because (first you heard of it) you owe nearly two million dollars for running red lights and pushing your speed.

Which of course, raises the revenue questions (if this one guy owed two mil, what did everyone else's payments amount to?!) and why cities might have incentive to use cameras rather than enforcement methods which provide direct and immediate disincentives for continued violations... another thought for another day.

I grant that perhaps the guy became aware or should have become aware that, when he never seemed to get caught by the cams, there was in fact something wrong with the notice system, and perhaps he decided to take advantage of this seeming immunity. He was, after all, running up, on average, a citation every two and a half days for seven years.

Drool Factor

Very sweet rocket wing - sort of a motorcycle in the sky. Yes, the picture is real.





Article and video here.

Quote of the week

"I can see Russia from my house."

'nuff said.

For the Music Lovers Out There

(Many thanks to Kari who passed this on to us!)

Ireland to get a medal

In what? Boxing, of course :-)

Since Drinking and Shillelagh Thumping aren't Olympic sports.

"Belfast boxer Paddy Barnes claimed the Irish team's first medal at the Beijing Olympics after a quarter-final win over Poland's Lukasz Maszczyk on Tuesday. "

(Written by The Brain, but Posted byt the Heart, because he is funny, and I think you all should know.)

Overheard

County sheriff from a rural part of Virginia, speaking to a women's defense gathering.

Question: "What kind of gun do you carry?"

Sheriff: "I carry a .45 on duty and off."

Question: "That's a really big bullet. Why do you carry a forty-five?"

Sheriff: "Because they don't make a forty-six."

Olympics

You would think that with all their sand, Saudi Arabia could put together a first rate womens beach volleyball team.

Irish view on our election!!

We, in Ireland, can't figure out why people are even bothering to hold an election in the United States.On one side, you have a pants wearing lawyer, married to a lawyer who can't keep his pants on, who just lost a long and heated primary against a lawyer who goes to the wrong church who is married to yet another lawyer who doesn't even like the country her husband wants to run.

Now...On the other side, you have a nice old war hero whose name appropriately starts with "Mc", married to a good looking younger woman who owns a beer distributorship.

What in the Lord's name is hard about this decision??

(Thanks to GNT for passing this on to us!)

Or maybe...

http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2008/07/30/connecticut-latest-to-go-after-rating-agencies/

Connecticut AG files against bond ratings companies for "unfairly" lowering municipal bond ratings for Connecticut public entities.

Perhaps my perspective just comes from my being in a county with a terrific bond rating, but maybe the problem is crappy fiscal policy and depreciating assessment bases in Connecticut that makes bond traders nervous about the towns and cities of Connecticut?

Reporters hurt at gun press conference

Three journalists were hurt when a gun went off at a press conference called by Chinese police to highlight the success of a gun-control campaign.

The press conference in Nanchong in Sichuan province was to publicise the results of a campaign by the city's police to seize illegal weapons, the Beijing News reported.

According to Zheng Chongjun, deputy head of the political division of Nanchong police, some of the reporters asked to take photos of the guns seized, the newspaper reported.
One of the police officials mishandled a homemade weapon, releasing the trigger and dropping it.

It was unclear from the report whether the gun contained bullets or shotgun pellets but it said one journalist needed surgery after being hit in the ankle, crotch, and chest.

~The Austrialian, Monday, July 18, 2008

(Many thanks to The Brain for finding this for me!)

Setting up for DC Guns, Part II

The DC mayor's office has released their proposed legislation in response to the Heller decision. The proposal is notable for how narrowly they attempt to limit the effects of that decision. For instance, handguns are (essentially) permitted only in a home and going to and from the many places you need to take the gun to get it properly registered. Licensure of persons (including proof of good vision) and firearms is required, you have to leave the gun with the police until they run full analyses on it, and no time limits on the city or police at any step. And amazingly, handguns must always be unloaded and disassembled (or trigger locked? the grammar isn't very clear to me) except when actually being used for self-defense ("while it is being used against reasonably perceived threat [sic] of immediate harm to a person within a registered gun owner’s home"). Fortunately, you will be happy to know, you do not need a separate carry license for carrying the handgun in the home while engaged in actual self-defense. There also appears to be an "amnesty" provision to allow registration of previously owned revolvers, but not semi-autos.

Apparently, DC really wants to pay Alan Gura more attorneys' fees for round two...

Over-specific law of the day

Note below, where only a handful of Virginia localities are given authority to put up "Yield to Pedestrians" signs.  This is one of the things I like about being a "Dillon Rule" state - localities can't even blow their noses without specific authorization to do so.

Va. Code § 46.2-924. Drivers to stop for pedestrians; installation of certain signs; penalty.

A. The driver of any vehicle on a highway shall yield the right-of-way to any pedestrian crossing such highway:

1. At any clearly marked crosswalk, whether at mid-block or at the end of any block;

2. At any regular pedestrian crossing included in the prolongation of the lateral boundary lines of the adjacent sidewalk at the end of a block;

3. At any intersection when the driver is approaching on a highway or street where the legal maximum speed does not exceed 35 miles per hour.

B. Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection A of this section, at intersections or crosswalks where the movement of traffic is being regulated by law-enforcement officers or traffic control devices, the driver shall yield according to the direction of the law-enforcement officer or device.

No pedestrian shall enter or cross an intersection in disregard of approaching traffic.

The drivers of vehicles entering, crossing, or turning at intersections shall change their course, slow down, or stop if necessary to permit pedestrians to cross such intersections safely and expeditiously.

Pedestrians crossing highways at intersections shall at all times have the right-of-way over vehicles making turns into the highways being crossed by the pedestrians.

C. The governing body of Arlington County, Fairfax County, the City of Fairfax, the County of Loudoun and any town therein, and the City of Alexandria, may by ordinance provide for the installation and maintenance of highway signs at marked crosswalks specifically requiring operators of motor vehicles, at the locations where such signs are installed, to yield the right-of-way to pedestrians crossing or attempting to cross the highway. Any operator of a motor vehicle who fails at such locations to yield the right-of-way to pedestrians as required by such signs shall be guilty of a traffic infraction punishable by a fine of no less than $100 or more than $500. The Commonwealth Transportation Board shall develop criteria for the design, location, and installation of such signs. The provisions of this section shall not apply to any limited access highway.

I don't care where you're from, that there's funny...

Robber kills himself drawing on homeowner...

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/localnews/crime/stories/DN-robber_19met.ART.West.Edition1.b6bdbe.html

Privacy Policy Haiku

Google may resist clouding its home page with a link to its privacy policy, but I have no such aims. Here is what you can expect from greatblackangus.blogspot.com

You don't know if I

(or another) watch your tracks.

So pretend we do.

How to stop famine

The Niger River, which provides water to many countries in subsaharan west Africa is drying up, according to the BBC. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7375109.stm. This will cause hardship for the millions of people who depend on the Niger's water for agricultural, industrial, and residential use.

According to an alarmist study, increased man-made Global Warming would add moisture to this area. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7227080.stm ("Greening of the Sahara/Sahel").

Save lives. Increase your carbon footprint.

Historical fact

Few people today realize that Noah was famous as an Ante-Semite.

RIP Tristram Cary (1925-2008)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/s4/news/080424_news_01

Film and television composer who scored electronic and orchestral music for cult BBC sci-fi series Doctor Who and the Alec Guinness Ladykillers.

First honorary blackbelt in veterinary jujitsu?

People should know how to defend themselves from animals. This is one of the basic primitive skills. (See, e.g., the wolf attack in Conan the Barbarian. Then stop after the wolf attack. The rest of the movie is bad for you.) I refer to this art as veterinary jujitsu, though I have yet to actually assemble any instructional formula (and probably am insufficiently motivated to actually do so...).

In the following article, however, you will see an example of someone who excels at this art:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7327984.stm

It kind of sticks in your craw...

"What doesn't happen when you are drunk?"  --A great Russian (click for story)

Superlaser coolness

Article at http://blog.wired.com/wiredscience/2008/04/texans-build-wo.html

Scientists at UT/Austin, with help from the National Nuclear Security Administration, have built a petawatt laser (1*10^15 watts) which they intend to ramp up to about 1.5 petawatts.  They report that is enough power to simulate the inside of a supernova, and they can maintain it for a few femtoseconds.

Swedish Authorities to Help Virgin Galactic with Regulatory Barriers

I love how far a little ingenuity goes in law. "Spaceships are basically hot air balloons. Have a tax cut."

Swedish Authorities to Help Virgin Galactic with Regulatory Barriers

via Res Communis by PJ Blount on 4/1/08

by P.J. Blount with the blog faculty

From Space.com:

PARIS - Swedish authorities planning to host flights of the Virgin Galactic suborbital space plane hope to lower the costs and regulatory barriers to the operation by having it classed as a sounding rocket and given the tax advantages of hot-air balloon flights, Swedish and Virgin Galactic officials said April 1.

The press release from the Swedish Space Corporation is also available.

Regarding the medical profession

I recently ran across an aphorism describing the other great profession thus:

Internists know everything but they don't do anything.
Surgeons aren't supposed to know anything, but they do it all.
Pathologists know everything and do everything, but it's all too late.

Poll results

I am a big fan of David Morgan-Mar's generally Lego-based Irregular Webcomic.  One feature of Mr. Morgan-Mar's comic is a poll, the topic of which changes periodically.  I find it an amusing commentary on the generally geeky makeup of the comic's audience that in one recent poll, his readership voted, with a margin of nearly 25% more votes, to save semi-obscure mathematician Evariste Galois from an untimely death over doing the same for Princess Diana.

The Waldo Ultimatum

For one who grew up on these books (not the Ludlum books!), here's some quality entertainment.


http://view.break.com/465843

Do YOU trust your water?

Ever wondered what prescription and nonprescription drugs you drink and brush your teeth with every day? Some answers here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/10/AR2008031000621.html?sid=ST2008030901877

Mood stabilizers in Fairfax County Virginia; Estrogen in New Orleans; heart medications in New York, etc.

The amounts are trace and we are told not to panic...

Global warming followup

I posted recently on global warming guessing here.

Since then, another stellar article has come out indicating that there is a significant new tool for climate change modeling.  Try to follow the trail of made-up information and guesswork: the scientists here have guessed backwards about sea level changes to create hypothetical data.  They then indicate that this data is useful for modeling future climate change.  In other words, by drawing a line from a guess in the past through what we think we know about the present, we will be able to definitively state what the future will be like.  Given the certainty with which we can state the outlook and causes of this future, we should make state-mandated policies to control the effects we state this future will hold.

Sure, that much guesswork inspires confidence.

Technology to watch

A byproduct of Scotch distillation appears to have significant environmental cleanup uses.  Although the nature of the product is (understandably) a closely held secret at this time, I don't mind saying, "Save the earth.  Have another shot of the good stuff."

Article Here.

Bizzare but fun link of the day

Telephone Touch Tone Tunes

Now you too can play "Joy to the World" on your phone.  Just be careful of any tunes that start with '1'...

With two-tone dialing, you get (roughly) the notes F, G, A, and B-flat on the rows (starting with 1, 4, 7, and *, respectively) and the notes D, E, and F-sharp on the columns (1, 2, and 3 respectively).  Chords are created by combinations thereof:

1 = D over F
2 = E/F
3 = F#/F
4 = D/G
5 = E/G
6 = F#/G
7 = D/A
8 = E/A
9 = F#/A
* = D/Bb
0 = E/Bb
# = F#/Bb

Because the notes are not exact, there is a bit of leeway regarding sharps and flats and so forth.

Reference:
Tone Dialing
Frequencies

A Night on the Town, Riyadh style

Blogger "Saudi Jeans" describes the difficulty of finding a jazz concert in Saudi Arabia.

I know intellectually that there are significant restraints on personal life in much of the Arabian Peninsula, and always sort of felt a sense that "Wahabiism is a rough way to live" (see here), but somehow the idea of having to go to the U.S. Embassy to hear any live music at all in the Kingdom puts a visceral realism to it for me. Or maybe I am just messed up enough that it takes something like this to get to me on a personal level.

Northern Virginia Transportation Authority Taxes Ruled Unconstitutional

Loudoun County, Bob Marshall, and the handful of other defendants have won the court fight against regional taxation authority.  The decision stated that it was an unconstitutional delegation of taxing power to an entity which is not a local government, and therefore all taxes imposed by the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority (NVTA) are null and void.  Opinion (22 pages) available at the Virginia Supreme Court website.

And there was much rejoicing.

Clinton ad

Hillary is running an ad calling on her "experience" theme.

I think it really does beg the question, though, as to whether, when
that call comes, you really want her to be the one taking that call.
Even if you grant that a few years as a senator and some surrogate
terms as spouse-of-executive count as experience, do you really trust
the answer she would give when she picked up the phone for whatever
domestic or international emergency was going on?

Global weather trauma

Although the BBC is a news outlet, not a peer-reviewed journal, and even though they are not particularly known for the quality of their scientific analysis, and even though I know that they label their articles to catch people's attention, I was still surprised by the adreneline-filled headline Climate Set for Sudden Shifts. The article goes on to mention that there are a number of changes that may occur on earth, some of which "could occur this century." Ok, so not exactly something to stay glued to your radio waiting for the announcement. I have no incentive for any sudden, unstudied solution. For instance, sudden loss of ice in Greenland and Antarctica aren't supposed to come up for another 300 years. Plenty of time to fill sandbags around New York City or come up with another idea.

The article claims to be summarizing the information in a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. One problem right off the bat for this article is that the solution recommended involves using computer models as an early warning system. Presumably, this also means that their results came from such a computer model. In other words, someone should take their ideas of how the data trends work together and create a system that shows these ideas. Which sounds an awful lot like a self-fulfilling prophesy. Models are inherently simplified. (See without further amplification Models Key to Climate Forecast, and ask yourself (1) if these are just the things they think they have to account for, how much are they missing? and (2) how do they select which approximations to allow?)

For instance, see Ocean Thermostat Can Save Coral. In this article, we are informed that the ocean regulates itself in such a way that surface temperature variations are absorbed and dissipated before long term damage can be done to tropical corals except in very localized situations, essentially meaning that coral bleaching is not a threat.

In closing and for further recommended reading, I finished recently Michael Crichton's State of Fear. While sometimes Crichton's works border on the silly, this book took a serious look at climate change. Stylistically, the book seemed more modeled on ancient Greek dialogs than the modern novel (although Crichton certainly did include enough plot to keep it moving). Through the course of the characters' interactions, he developed a decent skeptical argument regarding how little we know, how little we can prove, and how arrogant it is to assume that a few government regulations can fix things, and how that assumption is key to understanding why a political generation with no Soviet Union to fear need a new problem that only the government can solve.

Pivo 2

Sometimes something is so innovative and intriguing that I can't help forwarding it. Such is the case with the following car, which, although lacking muscle, ground clearance, carrying capacity, or any of the other things I normally comment favorably on, is too odd and innovative to let pass. Without further, ado, the

Pivo 2

Pivo 2 represents the other end of Nissan’s passion for cars, which can be characterised as friendly, innovative and design-led. It represents a commitment to finding new, innovative and bold solutions for future generations of motorists.

Pivo 2 is a zero-emissions vehicle propelled by four small 3D disc motors in each wheel and powered by advanced Super-Thin Lithium Ion (Li-Ion) batteries. The driver can always face the direction of travel as the cabin rotates 360 degrees and each wheel has 90 degrees of movement, meaning parking manoeuvres can be executed easily.

Entrance to the cabin is via a single, front-mounted door which also houses the major controls. Operation is made possible thanks to “X by Wire” technology, meaning that the steering and other mechanical linkages are replaced by electronic signals to operate Pivo 2’s drive systems.

(From Car Scoop.)

Why I won't support Mitt Romney

The Boston Globe: Romney Retreats on Gun Control

Although less talked about than his about-faces on abortion and gay rights, Romney's gun record is yet another example of convenient timing for changing views right before running for President.

Ask yourself, "what does it take for a Republican to get elected governor in Massachusetts?" For comparison, there are Democratic supermajorities in the legislature (137-19 House, 35-5 Senate)...

Infant food alergies overstated

I don't mean to come across as insensitive to allergies which actually do exist and are serious, but...

Mothers who fear their babies suffer from food allergies are largely wrong.

Wine Review: Barefoot Merlot (2006?)

We had a bottle of Barefoot Merlot (California) recently. The first problem was when I picked up the bottle, started thinking about what I might say about it, and looked in vain for the vintage. There was a "Copyright 2003" label on the bottle, but that doesn't mean anything regarding when the grapes were picked.

The flavor was cranberry and earth, the weight a medium heavy, and there was no complexity to the finish. Overall, it was good but monochromatic. We had it with a hearty but not spicy beef meal, and it held up; it seems it would be a good picnic wine to accompany a moderately heavy meat meal where you want a solid but not exotic wine.

How To Succeed in the Practice of Law, part II

From the movie Amistad, regarding the 1839 incident where the "human cargo" took over a slave ship and the subsequent court cases, culminating in the 1841 Supreme Court decision in the matter, the following (irreverent) exchange gets to the heart of things, namely, doing what you can to meet your client's goals, and getting paid to do it.

Theodore Joadson (Morgan Freeman) : If the court awards them to Spain, they'll be taken to Cuba and executed. If the two lieutenants prevail, they're most likely to sell them to Spain. . . And they'll be executed. If Montes and Ruiz are successful in their campaign ---

Roger Baldwin (Matthew McConaughey) : I'm a little confused. What are they worth to you?

Lewis Tappan (Stellan Skarsgård) : We're discussing the case, not its expense.

Baldwin : Oh, of course. Well, the case is much simpler than you think, Mr. Tappan. It's like anything, land, livestock, heirlooms, what have you.

Tappan : Livestock.

Baldwin : Yes. Consider: the only way one may sell or purchase slaves is if they are born slaves, as on the plantation. I'm right, aren't I?

Joadson : Yes.

Baldwin : So, are they?

Tappan : Are they?

Baldwin : Yes. Born slaves, as on a plantation.

Joadson : No, we're not certain, but we very much doubt it.

Baldwin : Let's say they are, and if they are, then they are possessions, and no more deserving of a criminal trial than a bookcase or a plow.

Then we can all go home, can't we? On the other hand, let's say they aren't slaves. If they aren't slaves, then they were illegally acquired, weren't they? Forget mutiny, piracy, murder and all the rest. Those are subsequent, irrelevant occurrences.

Ignore everything but the preeminent issue at hand. The wrongful transfer of stolen goods. Either way, we win.

Tappan : Sir, this war must be waged on the battlefield of righteousness.

Baldwin : The what ?

Tappan : It would be against everything I stand for to let this deteriorate. . . Into an exercise in the vagaries of legal minutia.

Baldwin : Well, I don't know what you're talking about. I'm talking about the heart of the matter.

Tappan : As am I. It is our destiny. . . as abolitionists and as Christians to save these people. These are people, Mr. Baldwin. Not livestock. Did Christ hire a lawyer to get him off on technicalities? He went to the cross nobly. You know why? To make a statement. To make a statement, as must we.

Baldwin : But Christ lost. You, I think----

Tappan : No, sir,he did not.

Baldwin : Or, at least you, Mr. Joadson, want to win, don't you?

Joadson : Yes.

Baldwin : I certainly do. Hell, sometimes I don't get paid unless I do. Which brings us back to the earlier question of worth. In order to do a better job than the attorney who represented the son of God, I'll require two and a half dollars a day.

For the Celtophiles

"English Literature, Scottish Author" classification dropped by U.S. Library of Congress in favor of "Scottish Literature" after international uproar.

End of a Friday

You know you have been working too long at a stretch when you have a moment of panic because you can't figure out how to save a document you have been working on, then realize that the document is a physical piece of paper, so of course there isn't a "save" button or feature.

I'm going home now.

Standards of Care, Virginia style

"Due care in a lumber camp might be gross negligence at Johns Hopkins. "

--Fox v. Mason, 139 Va. 667, 671 (1924) (Holt, J.).

Advice for relativistic travellers

If you ever find yourself in a situation where there are intertwined versions of the time-space continuum, and you need to straighten out the fabric of the universe, this simple test should help you figure out which version you want:

Find out which version there is a TV show about, and stick with that one.

(Seriously, how many times have you seen time-space breaches in a sci-fi show, and "our" crew convinces the "alternate" crew to "restore" "our" reality, even though "their" version is just as real to them as "ours" is to us. On the other hand, I suppose if a show needed to make a quick staffing change, say the Captain decided to pull a Natasha Yar, and the producers wanted to change the flavor of the show mid-season they could use such a device. Once the writer strike is resolved, of course...)

Emperor Palpatine on how to succeed in the practice of law

"I am compensated for my services, else I would not render them."

--Ian McDiarmid as Jaggers, Great Expectations (Masterpiece Theater)

Networking link

For the introvert in us all, those wanting to improve their working-the-room skills, or otherwise those that want a leg up on getting to know people en masse, see http://www.effectivenetworking.com/WILL.html.