Dogs and Cats, Lying Down Together. Madness.

I found myself agreeing with both Charles Krauthammer and Pat Buchanan today. Yikes.

Although I would argue with Krauthammer (and doesn't that sound like a WWII era superhero comic?) that gas companies are taking advantage of the fact that gas truly isn't a basic supply & demand commodity--slashing prices at the pump will only cause all of the other companies to do so as well, with the effect that they all make less money. But prices are not being arbitrarily raised; it's summer driving season and we've tossed so much uncertainty into the supply chain.

On the nukes, see also this flash animation as to why the nuclear bunker busters won't and can't work. Alright, the "can't" is a little shy on details for the scientists among you, but it does convey the sheer volume of unintended consequences from this proposal.

Softball

So I'm playing softball again...on an NRL team that is playing "modified fastpitch," which is fast pitch rules, only no windmill windups. So you have to throw it flat, with only the slowpitch step forward. More or less what the UC Sciences league ended up like half of the time anyway.

I liked my timing after a year off, but I aggravated my thumb strain and it's only now feeling normal. I've only been taking ibuprofen sporadically, though. I hope this doesn't become a regular occurrence...constantly taking ibuprofen all year just to play is really not a tenable situation.

And just to show you how ridiculous the GOP has become, they've staged a withdrawal from the Congressional softball league over how a Democratic staffer is running the league. If you look at the details of how they get their fields, you'll see they're just as spoiled and priviledged as you might guess.

So, What's Everyone Been Up To?

I've been up to starting some softball, returning to umpiring, and working on the job search. And, you know, research too. I suppose. When someone's looking.

Shane's been up to handing out his NHL awards, and I can't say I disagree with a choice. I'd mention Lundqvist in the Calder race as well. They really ought to have more finallists brought to Toronto for that, given that they effectively had two rookie classes this year.

I've been up to ignoring Amazing Race postings, since no one was commenting. I think the awful Family Edition sucked the interest out of me. The back to normal show has been good, but it's not sucking me in like it was.

Going rafting again at the end of May, so I'll be sure to blog about that.

OK, I'll try to get back to schedule...one thing I thought of is to institute the feature Stevis's Second Favorite Thing in the Universe, in which I talk about whatever I'm geeking about that moment. We'll see. I also started this blog with the intention of writing essays inspired by hats in my collection, and never have, so don't get your hopes up.

Legal precedent that closed source software is untrustworthy

Closed source applications screw up you're voting; now you're seeing them screw up DUI convictions. Of course, in this case it's because judges are agreeing with defense attorneys that the rights of the accused to examine the case against them are being neglected. Maybe this sets a hopeful precedent to challenge Diebold.

The Amazing Race 9--"I'm Filthy and I Love It!"

Ah...real racing...so good. They even avoided the stupid premiere episode campout last week.

World Baseball Classic

Alright, I admit it--I've got nothing to keep my posting pledge with. But I can remind you that the World Baseball Classic has started--you can listen on the Internets at mlb.com for $10 (for the whole thing.) The Asian bracket is starting earlier so they can get over here and aclimate for the second round. I'd like this tourney better if it were in November, and not so neutered with the pitch counts and what not. But it's still baseball after a cold winter.

The Amazing Race 9--"Here We Go, Baby, Off to Win a Million Bucks! "

Listen to me clearly: Around the World. Around the World.

Hopefully the return to real racing will include an actual circumnavigation, better tasks, and less "baby." Oops.