The Last Ephor

largely because of personal difficulty which I was going to elaborate on. That was, until I read this . Comparatively my post seems like petty friggin whining so I'll continue to shut up. God bless Dom and her whole family. Especially Ashley. "Now cracks a noble heart. Good night sweet princess. And flights of angels sing thee to thy rest." -Hamlet Act V, Scene ii

I'm on hiatus for a bit.

Typealyzer : "ESTP - The Doers [ESTP] The active and play-ful type. They are especially attuned to people and things around them and often full of energy, talking, joking and engaging in physical out-door activities. The Doers are happiest with action-filled work which craves their full attention and focus. They might be very impulsive and more keen on starting something new than following it through. They might have a problem with sitting still or remaining inactive for any period of time." Um...yeah, that would be me.

A fiery Czech is poised to be the face of Europe In 1994 I was studying (well, drinking and whoring really with some classes thrown in at times) in France. One thing about being a foreign exchange student is that you're outside the normal channels of communication for students for some reason. I was well prepared with my schedule and what classes were at what time and what room. Beyond that I was bewildered about comings and goings, events, holidays and I was not alone. I was one of three Americans in this particular school and we frequently found ourselves following the herd rather than leading it. The prime example was midsemester break which seems to be sprung upon us rather suddenly. Upon suddenly finding myself with 10 or so days off I wasn't going to sit around an empty apartment building by myself with a forecast of 50 and raining for the week. One of the German guys was going home to see his family and asked if I'd go with him to defray the hideous cost of ga...

From the FeedIt log: "Mexico, Distrito Federal arrived from google.com.mx on "Pencader Days: Hey Hube?" by searching for hey hube." Is Hube big in Mexico? Perhaps it's all that Spanish music blogging.

Around the World in 116 Beers . I weep because our nation is represented by Buttwiper. Sad. Sad. Sad.

Bailout costs more than Marshall Plan, Louisiana Purchase, moonshot, S&L bailout, Korean War, New Deal, Iraq war, Vietnam war, and NASA's lifetime budget -- *combined*! Crunching the inflation adjusted numbers, we find the bailout has cost more than all of these big budget government expenditures – combined: • Marshall Plan: Cost: $12.7 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $115.3 billion • Louisiana Purchase: Cost: $15 million, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $217 billion • Race to the Moon: Cost: $36.4 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $237 billion • S&L Crisis: Cost: $153 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $256 billion • Korean War: Cost: $54 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $454 billion • The New Deal: Cost: $32 billion (Est), Inflation Adjusted Cost: $500 billion (Est) • Invasion of Iraq: Cost: $551b, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $597 billion • Vietnam War: Cost: $111 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $698 billion • NASA: Cost: $416.7 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $851.2 billion ...

Woman may lose house for sex while she was a high school student 12 years ago Dear Judge, Have you lost your mind? I know people of conservative and libertarian bent are always harping on about activists judges overriding the letter of the law but c'mon. Seriously? How this woman ever became a sex offender is beyond me. Can Your Honor please enlighten me as what would have happened had she lived in the house prior to the day care arriving? Would you then be requiring her to move? Adherence to the spirit of the law is as important as the letter. Thank you, A Sane Person.

Broke Man Tries Paying Bill With a Picture of a Spider . Gotta give him credit for imagination.

American troops in Afghanistan through the eyes of a French OMLT infantryman . Just stunning. It will make your day.

The miracle machine that turns cheap plonk into vintage wine . While the title of the article might be overstating even the inventors claims it is interesting. Can we artificially age wine? There is some evidence that vibration = aging. In Dubai they are building The Palm. They use a machine to vibrate the sand to compact it. It has the effect of decades of compacting of the sand making it less subject to erosion and better able to support infrastructure. The inventor claims the same works for not just wine but orange juice and scotch. This could be very big news. I wouldn't recommend trying it on say, beer but it seems plausible. I'll wager Wine Spectator is going to have a field day with this one. It would be a boon to restauranteurs. They could have a unlabeled house brand that has be magicified into shakey goodness. Hell, I'd probably buy one but not for $500 bucks. Move them down to $100 or even $150 and it's a solid investment if it works as advertis...

Strange Brew Why a fitness magazine is reporting on beer is beyond me. Sort of like a Wine Spectator reviewing exercise equipment. That will not stop me from commenting on the article. It's a brief about unique brews and why they are different. They picked some good ones and your's truly has had 3 out of 5 of them. 1.) THE MOST POTENT: Sam Adams Utopias I own this but have not yet opened it. I promised my benefactor I'd wait until he visited before I tried it. To say I've been anxious to try it would be like saying Hube was anxious to see Iron Man. 2.) THE SPICIEST: Cave Creek Chili Beer I love spicy food. I love it when it makes my nose run and my eyes water. I love beer with a passion that is probably not normal. I have a dozen books on styles and brewing techniques. I used to brew (before kids) and even keg my own stuff. I experimented with recipes. One of which I still get requests for 10 years later. My second date with my wife was her coming to my apa...

Civic Literacy Report - Civics Quiz : "You answered 30 out of 33 correctly — 90.91 % Average score for this quiz during November: 77.2% Average score since November 20, 2008: 77.2% You can take the quiz as often as you like, however, your score will only count once toward the monthly average." I missed three. I thought the Lincoln/Douglas debates were about the morality of slavery rather than it's expansion. I also said that cutting taxes and spending would jump start the economy. The "correct" answer is spend but cut taxes. Not sure I agree but I understand the position. Lastly I missed one other but I've closed the window and can't remember which one. What's even more alarming is the results of our elected officials v. the average American The latter group probably suffers from a smaller sampling error. That is, outliers have more influence in a smaller sample but that excuses nothing. The Left was freaking out b/c Sarah Palin was a rube an...

You be the judge says Minnesota Public Radio. An interesting visual display of what we're talking about for the disputed ballots. Some of them are pretty darn clear to me. Others? Not so much. I think people need to be more careful. It's amazing that some of the ballots are so sloppy. Were you not paying attention when you voted? Can you stop texting for five seconds to friggin vote?

Al Franken is challenging this ballot . He isn't interested in the will of the voters. He's interested in Al Franken. Anyone, regardless of political persuasion, who cannot see this for the attempted fraud it is, is a fundamentally dishonest person.

While some people don't put a lot of stock in being able to speak a foreign language, I disagree. Speaking to someone in their native tongue goes a long way to understanding them. How someone says something is frequently more telling than what they say. You hear someone sputter and stammer in your language and you can't help but think them a fool. He may, however, be a physicist who just doesn't know English. Proverbs can provide valuable insight into a society or culture. It shows you what they value and what they fear, two main drivers of any society. Many of them have overriding themes across cultures proving that some things are inherently human and not specifically cultural. I remember when I arrived at the French university in Cultured Sophisticated Europe where everyone was enlightened and intellectual. I have to be honest, I was a little intimidated. Imagine my surprise when one of the more common proverbs I kept hearing was "Femmes au volant, mort ...

DRUDGE REPORT 2009 : "Scientists find penguin that disappeared 500 years ago..." He was crowned All Time Penguin Hide And Seek Champion.

Chinese May Buy GM and Chrysler . This is a wise move for all concerned. The Chinese need an opening into the US and buying the OEM saves them the trouble of going through the hoops of importing, crash testing, building physical plant, shipping etc. Built in brand recognition and boom, they're the biggest players in the biggest auto market in the world. This is exactly why we should not be in the business of bailing anyone out. Not the airlines, not newspapers, not banks, insurance or anyone else. These industries may or may not be vital. If they are, they'll spring up in a new form or somehow regenerate. Just as nature abhors a vacuum, so do markets. There's money in them thar hills and people know it. In addition, any interlocking of our economies is good news. It ties our fates together which help reduce tensions. We'd all rather be making money and trading peacefully than shooting at each other. Blood is expensive as the old Mafia axiom goes.