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Saturday Open Thread

It's a beautiful day here, too nice to spend indoors. Here's an open thread, all topics welcome.

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    Acquittals in an interesting case (5.00 / 2) (#30)
    by scribe on Sat Mar 13, 2010 at 02:28:10 PM EST
    Yesterday, a Maine jury acquitted a father and daughter of a whole plethora of charges arising out of a (one-sided) gunfight between lobstermen on Matinicus Island, one of the many islands off the coast of Maine.  The long and short of the case was that the one lobsterman accused the other of cutting the lines to his lobster traps and it all went downhill from there.

    The lobster traps are not the quaint wooden lobster pots one sees as decor in nautically-themed restaurants.  Rather, they are big wire-mesh boxes, about the size of a dog crate.  hey aren't cheap and they are the lobstermens' second-most important tool, the first being a boat.  The shooting and this case not only were a narrowly-avoided death, but also a tragedy in that it tore apart the tiny community of lobstermen and their families on the isolated island.

    Next time you have seafood, remember that these folks and many others like them risk their lives to bring it to you, for not a lot of money at all.  Every year some die gruesome deaths doing it.

    Poaching is an additional problem, (none / 0) (#39)
    by oculus on Sat Mar 13, 2010 at 04:00:52 PM EST
    at least on West coast.

    Parent
    Alice Waters? (none / 0) (#41)
    by squeaky on Sat Mar 13, 2010 at 04:18:40 PM EST
    Heh. (5.00 / 2) (#44)
    by scribe on Sat Mar 13, 2010 at 04:42:38 PM EST
    This was not poaching.  Rather, at heart it was a combination of economic competition between lobstermen, an insular community (on a ocuple levels - competing ishermen, on a small isolated island), probably years of bad blood building up and - from what I've read - no little bit of  attitude.  From what I've seen, the gist of it was there was some cutting the lines that run between lobster trap and lobster buoy, with the result that the traps would be lost on the bottom (at least until someone might have decided to try to find and recover them by dragging a grappling hook - not unheard of given that it works sometimes and the traps are expensive).  The party doing the cutting then would undertake to set their own traps in the area where the other guy's traps were now lost on the bottom.  Thus, at heart, it was a territorial fight over the right to fish particluar parts of a commons.  

    Then, one has to consider that doing this job requires no small amount of bada*sery if only because you're out on the (dangerously cold) North Atlantic, frequently in crappy weather, on a relatively small boat usually with a crew of two - captain and sternman.  The captain drives and plots the course and the sternman drops the traps overboard or snags  buosnd gets them on the winch to come up.  No rail back at the stern.  The sternman can get dragged over and drowned in seconds, often without a trace.

    So, you kinda get the flavor of it.

    Parent

    Sounds like Annie Proulx material. (none / 0) (#45)
    by oculus on Sat Mar 13, 2010 at 04:46:53 PM EST
    Here the problem is divers with gourmet appetites.  And also surfers who want to surf the same break where the traps are nesting.

    Parent
    In colonial days (5.00 / 1) (#51)
    by jondee on Sat Mar 13, 2010 at 04:59:34 PM EST
    it was considered practically the equivalent of junk food.

    As a matter of fact, I think I read somewhere that at one point they passed a law in New England stating that people were allowed to feed lobster to the indentured servants NO MORE than three times a week.

    Parent

    There's a story like that about prisons too. (none / 0) (#52)
    by observed on Sat Mar 13, 2010 at 05:01:15 PM EST
    Personally I don't care for lobster that much---especially at it's price! I love Dungeness or King crab though.

    Parent
    Northern Atlantic (none / 0) (#60)
    by gyrfalcon on Sat Mar 13, 2010 at 06:06:21 PM EST
    lobster is a whole different kettle of fish, so to speak, than southern or any Pacific lobster.  There's a reason why Maine lobsters are so famous.  Don't know why, but that cold, cold water makes them sweeter and more tender.  Same with crabs and the tiny Maine shrimp, but you can rarely find either of those outside NE, and often not outside Maine itself.

    Parent
    Which is why Rubio's lobster (none / 0) (#68)
    by oculus on Sat Mar 13, 2010 at 06:44:34 PM EST
    burritos do not really contain lobster.  They do contain Langostina.  The City Attorney sured for mislabeling.

    Parent
    Yeah (none / 0) (#48)
    by squeaky on Sat Mar 13, 2010 at 04:55:34 PM EST
    It is no joke, sorry for the poached pun... I knew a lobsterman on one of the Islands of Maine as he was going out with a friend of mine. Spent some time up there with him, sweetheart, but not an easy life. He, as most there have been doing the same thing for a couple centuries. Odd as it is a snapshot of life in the 1700's, generations of heiresses and lobstermen all on the same isle, with middle and upper middle class trying to nose their way in, seasonally that is.

    Most natives (since 1600's that is) have contempt for the new arrivals. A lot of tension there which on occasion leads to the burning down newly built homes.

    Parent

    I smell a D.H Lawrence (none / 0) (#54)
    by jondee on Sat Mar 13, 2010 at 05:11:19 PM EST
    lady-of-the-manor and the gamekeeper (lobsterfisherman) angle here..

    The thing would practically write itself.

    Parent

    Poached Butter Lobster (none / 0) (#59)
    by squeaky on Sat Mar 13, 2010 at 06:01:23 PM EST
    A luxurious recipe to keep the lobsterfolk in biz.

    Sounds heavenly.

    (Variant recipe from link below)

    Parent

    Even more decadent (5.00 / 1) (#77)
    by scribe on Sat Mar 13, 2010 at 08:59:02 PM EST
    Lobster macaroni and cheese, and no need to melt a whole pound or two of butter just to poach stuff.

    FWIW, poaching in butter is a very useful method at high altitude, where water boils at a lower temperature and thus cannot be relied upon to completely cook whatever it is you're trying to poach.  At sea level, it's just indulgent.

    Parent

    Also Mac and Cheese (5.00 / 1) (#78)
    by squeaky on Sat Mar 13, 2010 at 09:29:30 PM EST
    From the poached lobster link:

    For last Saturday's dinner, I made Butter-Poached Lobster with Lobster Broth and Mascarpone-Enriched Orzo, one of The French Laundry's signature dishes that's also known as Macaroni and Cheese.


    Parent
    This was in heavy rotation (none / 0) (#76)
    by scribe on Sat Mar 13, 2010 at 08:52:50 PM EST
    last fall - the annual fall harvest days promotion for lobstah.

    Not an actor narrating that, either.

    Parent

    Women's Lib (5.00 / 2) (#35)
    by squeaky on Sat Mar 13, 2010 at 03:09:17 PM EST
    Not all women were created equal, or even created less than equal as it is. It turns that black women are much, much, less than equal. No surprise.

    A new study from the Center for Community Economic Development indicates that single black women, even in their peak earning years, have a median net worth of only $5.

    As reported by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the study also found that single white women between 36 and 49 have a median wealth of $42,600 -- well below the figure for single white men. But the finding that black women have virtually no assets at all stunned even the study's participants.

    [snip]

    Even black women who were married or in a long-term relationship had a median net worth of only $31,500, compared to a figure of $167,500 for white women.

    rawstory

    face (none / 0) (#1)
    by Capt Howdy on Sat Mar 13, 2010 at 12:20:45 PM EST
    Segue: "The Nose," composed (5.00 / 1) (#6)
    by oculus on Sat Mar 13, 2010 at 01:03:21 PM EST
    by Shostakovich, based on a story by Gogol, is being broadcast live today from the Met.  William Kentridge is the director.  Wish I could see, not just hear, this production.  Paulo Szol, who played the planter in "South Pacific" at Lincoln Center, plays Kovaalyov, the man whose nose goes missing.  Gergiev is conducting.  

    Parent
    Thank you, I will listen in (none / 0) (#8)
    by ruffian on Sat Mar 13, 2010 at 01:12:15 PM EST
    Szol is so good - and yes, looking at him would be treat for the eyes as well.

    I love him in the South Pacific recording. Wish I had seen it.

    Parent

    I did see/hear him in South Pacific, (5.00 / 1) (#11)
    by oculus on Sat Mar 13, 2010 at 01:14:14 PM EST
    as I am a huge fan of that particular musical.  Retro--I knw!

    Parent
    Jealous! (none / 0) (#14)
    by ruffian on Sat Mar 13, 2010 at 01:19:15 PM EST
    I was never a huge SP fan until that production - the recording anyway. I think he and Kellie O'Hara are the best in those roles I've ever heard. I've watched all the utube videos I can find also. Not to mention Matthew Morrison, now of 'Glee' fame.

    The orchestral arrangement too is wonderful. I'm not nearly knowledgeable enough about that kind of music to know what they do to give it that rolling oceanic rhythm, but it is definitely different than the other recordings. I hope Richard Rodgers would be pleased.

    I was just obsessed with that recording when it came out.

    Parent

    The audience was quite interesting. (none / 0) (#15)
    by oculus on Sat Mar 13, 2010 at 01:21:39 PM EST
    Younger people were there, I guess, because of good reviews.  Older people knew all the music.  I wore out the original cast recording but had never seen the show live and didn't see the movie.

    Parent
    Don't watch the movie (none / 0) (#19)
    by ruffian on Sat Mar 13, 2010 at 01:33:26 PM EST
    Your memory of that production will be better!!!

    Parent
    I kind of missed Ezio Pinza though. (5.00 / 0) (#22)
    by oculus on Sat Mar 13, 2010 at 01:36:15 PM EST
    the other nose (none / 0) (#9)
    by Capt Howdy on Sat Mar 13, 2010 at 01:12:37 PM EST
    his sister Daisy.  except they are not related they are both rescue dogs that came from different places.  I have had him for almost three years and her a little more than one.

    he is Ghost.


    Parent

    Is that yours? (none / 0) (#2)
    by observed on Sat Mar 13, 2010 at 12:25:42 PM EST
    Love those blue eyes (none / 0) (#5)
    by ruffian on Sat Mar 13, 2010 at 12:58:20 PM EST
    He sure is a beauty!

    Parent
    he is one of mine (none / 0) (#7)
    by Capt Howdy on Sat Mar 13, 2010 at 01:03:28 PM EST
    he has an almost twin sister.
    yeah
    how could you not fall in love with those eyes

    Parent
    I did (none / 0) (#56)
    by Jen M on Sat Mar 13, 2010 at 05:16:04 PM EST
    whimper

    Parent
    another face (none / 0) (#10)
    by ruffian on Sat Mar 13, 2010 at 01:13:44 PM EST
    Mine, doing his bear skin rug impression.

    Let me know if you can or cannot see this. I'm not convinced the Mac galleries work well on non-Macs.

    Parent

    what a face (none / 0) (#13)
    by Capt Howdy on Sat Mar 13, 2010 at 01:16:47 PM EST
    that makes me miss my old golden.  he got to be twenty.


    Parent
    They took that at the boarding place (none / 0) (#18)
    by ruffian on Sat Mar 13, 2010 at 01:32:10 PM EST
    He won Guest of the Month ;-)

    Such a star.  Goldens are great, and he is especially sweet. Wins hearts wherever he goes.

    20 is amazing. I'm sure you must miss him - such a long time best friend. It's almost a year since my other golden Ruffian died and I still miss him like crazy. He was only 11. His mom belongs to friends of mine, and she is 14 and going strong. One of Ruffy's littermates belongs to another friend, and just lost a front leg to bone cancer. Now they call him Tripawd. He chases foxes and everything.

    These doggies - such amazing beings in our midst. We try to deserve them.

    Parent

    Ghost is a spirit guide (5.00 / 1) (#26)
    by Capt Howdy on Sat Mar 13, 2010 at 01:44:57 PM EST
    I actually believe that

    Parent
    Our familiars: companions, guides, family (none / 0) (#31)
    by Ellie on Sat Mar 13, 2010 at 02:33:01 PM EST
    ... including our "built-in" ones.

    I studied Totemic Astrology academically as part of my Comparative Religions /Cultural Anthropology arc for Media, Fine Arts and History.

    I'm living it (large!) in service to a menagerie of 2- and 4-legged/finned critters. The "predictive" newspaper columns are fun but the realtime version is funner.

    Parent

    I was irate (5.00 / 2) (#32)
    by jondee on Sat Mar 13, 2010 at 02:54:00 PM EST
    at this (basically goodhearted) redneck friend of mine who, out of sheer frustration about not getting a deer one day, shot a Great Horned Owl out of a tree. A few days later, somebody broke into his storage space and stole his entire gun collection, valued at many thousands.

    "Sheer coincidence"? I think not.

    An Indian sage said once that, just as there are certain men and women who are something more than men and women, so there are certain elephants that aren't quite elephants; certain deer that aren't quite deer; certain fish that aren't quite fish..etc

    Parent

    "The look of eagles" (none / 0) (#34)
    by jondee on Sat Mar 13, 2010 at 03:01:42 PM EST
    I've always loved that expression: used traditionally by trainers to describe, or try to describe, that certain, indefinable "something extra" certain rare, racehorses have.

    Once in a while you come across people who have that quality too.

    Parent

    the way Ghost (none / 0) (#84)
    by Capt Howdy on Mon Mar 15, 2010 at 08:46:01 AM EST
    came to me, his story, is just to amazing.
    it sounds completely made up.
    I have toyed for years now with writing it down.
    a childrens book or something.


    Parent
    Portrait of a bird dog (none / 0) (#57)
    by TeresaInSnow2 on Sat Mar 13, 2010 at 05:35:58 PM EST
    Nice! (none / 0) (#58)
    by gyrfalcon on Sat Mar 13, 2010 at 06:00:34 PM EST
    Friend of mine had an Australian shepherd in whose presence you could not utter the word "turkey."  She'd leap up out of a sound sleep and frantically run from window to window with excitement, whether indoors or in the car, looking for that turkey.

    She was never allowed to chase one, but boy, did she want to!

    Parent

    my dogs to that at the word (none / 0) (#83)
    by Capt Howdy on Mon Mar 15, 2010 at 08:40:43 AM EST
    "outside"

    among others squirrel being one

    Parent

    very (none / 0) (#61)
    by Capt Howdy on Sat Mar 13, 2010 at 06:20:40 PM EST
    smart dogs

    Parent
    Much more alert than my throw rug (none / 0) (#65)
    by ruffian on Sat Mar 13, 2010 at 06:35:33 PM EST
    What a cure girl!

    Parent
    A poster in (none / 0) (#3)
    by brodie on Sat Mar 13, 2010 at 12:34:18 PM EST
    the previous thread brought up the issue of Reagan and whether he was non compos mentis by his 2d term.  

    Interesting question which I've noted in recent times that people on the left often raise.  It is one not unreasonable argument which undercuts the conservatives zeal to put the guy on Mt Rushmore and on the $50 bill.  After all, how can you elevate someone to such heights if he was mentally incompetent half of his presidency -- a mere doddering figurehead?

    Otoh, making that argument lets Reagan off the hook, seems to me, for his considerable lawbreaking activity in re Iran-Contra -- arguably at least as grave an offense, and as impeachable, as Watergate.  (I-C:  one of the most egregious examples of Dem wimpitude as Congress let Ronnie and Poppy off the hook for some serious felonies.)

    And I can't quite be sure that the former professional actor Reagan, at least in some of his immediate post-presidency court appearances involving I-C people, didn't find it personally advantageous to act as if his mental state had deteriorated much more than it had.  It sure was interesting in the timing of the onset of the Alzheimer's symptoms -- right around the time he left office and then was subpoened to testify in court.  

    I'm inclined to believe he was faking it selectively prior to the final decade or so of real decline, and that generally his lack of mental or intellectual acuity before that owed more to his personal limitations and old age/lack of energy/leisurely work habits than any crippling mental disease.

    Of course, if someone has evidence that he spent much of his final years in office wandering the halls of the WH, muttering "Gort:  Klaatu barada nikto", then I'd like to maybe revise some of my views ...  

    Bush was faking it too, but he's (5.00 / 1) (#4)
    by observed on Sat Mar 13, 2010 at 12:46:12 PM EST
    still a moron.

    Parent
    One thing I am resolved not to worry about: (5.00 / 1) (#12)
    by oculus on Sat Mar 13, 2010 at 01:14:56 PM EST
    Reagan's mental state.

    Parent
    He was never that good an actor (5.00 / 1) (#33)
    by gyrfalcon on Sat Mar 13, 2010 at 02:58:03 PM EST
    The guy had nowhere near the subtlety to "act" like he was confused and out of it.

    I just thank God for Nancy, who did apparently keep him from some of his wilder ideas-- like invading Nicaragua.

    Parent

    Agree he wasn't (none / 0) (#38)
    by brodie on Sat Mar 13, 2010 at 03:56:07 PM EST
    a great, nuanced actor, but he just needed to be credible enough as he played the role of President for 8 yrs then on occasion, out of political necessity, pretended to be out of it (more of an innocent, out of the loop role-playing rather than a glassy-eyed Alzheimer's patient).  

    Then, once out of office and as he had to appear in court, he could step it up slightly and just keep repeating, I don't recall, I don't remember.  Not much heavy Brandoesque lifting required there, and the motivation would come from avoiding a perjury rap.

    Unfortunately, the issue of Ronnie Reagan is going to be with us for a while because the Right is insisting he be placed in the American Pantheon of Greats alongside Washington and Lincoln.  His questionable mental state, or declining abilities due to age and fatigue, are therefore relevant matters.

    As for Nancy, I think she was responsible for ousting the overripe CoS Don Regan, who'd been pushing to keep Reagan far right in his various Cold War and domestic attitudes and who was treating Reagan with only some thinly veiled intellectual contempt.  So, apart from the dubious consults with her court astrologer, she did in fact do some good behind the scenes.

    Parent

    Agree, the MSM (5.00 / 1) (#40)
    by brodie on Sat Mar 13, 2010 at 04:11:44 PM EST
    utterly failed to adequately explain I-C to the public and stay with the story doggedly as some did with Watergate.  That said, the ball was in Congress's court to undertake a vigorous investigation of what happened, no holds barred.

    Instead, apparently, timid cong'l Dem leaders decided, for various reasons ("too soon after Watergate"/"it would tear this country apart" were commonly offered) not to allow the investigation to go after Ronnie and Poppy, what they knew and when they knew it.  Iirc, Dem chief counsel Arthur Limon admitted as much after the fact, and he agreed with this approach of what we might call a "modified limited hangout" appearance of an investigation, going after only the underlings while leaving the "too popular and likable to be impeached" Reagan untouched.

    As for Sen Inouye, as co-chair of the committee which apparently wittingly set out to only partly investigate, he's responsible for his role in the whitewashed results and grossly deficient historical record his comm'ee produced, as is the other co-chair Lee Hamilton, a guy who would go on to produce non-investigation investigations in other controversial matters of state.  Perhaps Inouye did himself and his country proud on the Watergate comm'ee -- I don't recall him playing a major role however.  That would have been Ervin and the chief counsel Sam Dash.

    Parent

    There was a lot of (5.00 / 1) (#42)
    by jondee on Sat Mar 13, 2010 at 04:36:23 PM EST
    talk back then of fears of "further damaging the Presidency", (after Watergate).

    Though, why anyone would allow North to make the kind of mockery of the proceedings that he did by being allowed to drone on and on with that choreographed, dewy-eyed Court Martial of Jimmy Doolittle routine (complete with reconnaissance photos of "Soviet bases"), is completely beyond me; unless they were worried that taking to task a man in a Marine Officer's uniform on camera would be spun by the right wing as something akin to throttling the American eagle itself: which I suspect is the case.

    Parent

    Timing (5.00 / 1) (#43)
    by mmc9431 on Sat Mar 13, 2010 at 04:39:10 PM EST
    Maybe to a point, but his illness was announced publicly very soon after he left office.

    Regardless, there's way too many questions about his tenure in the WH to canonize him yet. That's why I suggested that there be a 50 yr waiting period before we start carving Mt. Rushmore up! The sealed records need to be open before Americans can make an intelligent decision about his leadership.

    Personally, I think he should have been impeacehed over Iran/Contra. The idea that if a president does it, then it's legal is a very scary standard. His crimes were against the nation. Bill Clinton was impeached for considerably less.

    Parent

    I say we split (5.00 / 1) (#47)
    by jondee on Sat Mar 13, 2010 at 04:50:50 PM EST
    the difference and give him a traditional Tibetan sky burial on the face of Mt Rushmore.

    Mt Rushmore?! Really, are these people effing serious?!

    I feel like the Tommy Lee Jones character in "No Country"..who ARE these people?

    Parent

    Why not put him on Stone Mountain? (none / 0) (#49)
    by observed on Sat Mar 13, 2010 at 04:55:48 PM EST
    Awful weather here (none / 0) (#16)
    by andgarden on Sat Mar 13, 2010 at 01:31:12 PM EST
    rain, rain, rain.

    We are having early "June gloom." (none / 0) (#17)
    by oculus on Sat Mar 13, 2010 at 01:32:03 PM EST
    I blame it on the time change.

    Parent
    Same here. For days now. However (none / 0) (#20)
    by Cream City on Sat Mar 13, 2010 at 01:35:49 PM EST
    the rain has done the job -- the snow is gone.  This is about the earliest date for the snow to be gone in years, and there was more snow than usual this year still piled high only a week or so ago.

    I take it as a sign of an early spring.  I am clinging to that thought to get through this string of horrible gray days that make me want to just nap.

    Parent

    It's coming (5.00 / 1) (#53)
    by mmc9431 on Sat Mar 13, 2010 at 05:03:30 PM EST
    My garden thinks spring is coming. I also saw a robin. Plus the Cubs openning day is less than a month away. It has to be spring. I'm sick of winter and I need spring.

    Parent
    We are having the best day (none / 0) (#21)
    by ruffian on Sat Mar 13, 2010 at 01:35:50 PM EST
    we've had in a long time. somewhat windy, but sunny and 70. I'm on the patio, watching the ducks on the retention pond.

    Parent
    Reminds me of another sign of spring (none / 0) (#23)
    by Cream City on Sat Mar 13, 2010 at 01:37:35 PM EST
    yesterday, taking a break outside -- to the sound of geese honking overhead.  And they were going north!  (Love that sound, love their formations; we are on a major flight path to many marshes.)

    Parent
    Sorry, was that insensitive? (none / 0) (#24)
    by ruffian on Sat Mar 13, 2010 at 01:37:42 PM EST
    Not bragging, just sharing!

    In august I will be miserable, don't worry.

    Parent

    Shades of my former mother-in-law, (none / 0) (#25)
    by oculus on Sat Mar 13, 2010 at 01:41:04 PM EST
    who always started her letters from Gulf Coast of FL with a description of the weather.  Meanwhile we were living in Michigan.

    Parent
    Ha! something about FL (none / 0) (#27)
    by ruffian on Sat Mar 13, 2010 at 01:47:33 PM EST
    The weather is a major topic of conversation around here. for some it is the only reason they are here so keeping track of it is how they convince themselves it is worth it. (Hint: it's NOT).

    Parent
    So says the girl with the giant sinus infection (none / 0) (#64)
    by Militarytracy on Sat Mar 13, 2010 at 06:34:06 PM EST
    Boy, you're not kidding... (none / 0) (#29)
    by Anne on Sat Mar 13, 2010 at 02:24:57 PM EST
    here in north/central Maryland, it is like a monsoon, and the ground is so saturated from snow melt that it has nowhere to go; lots of flood warnings - makes me glad I live on the top of a hill!

    Great for the water table - and our well - though, so am resolved to put up with the gloom in exchange for having water come out of the spigots when I turn on the tap.

    Power has been blinking off and on today - lots of wind, too - just hoping no more trees come down, or if they do, that they manage to fall away from the house!

    Good day for cleaning, cooking and/or reading; now that I am back from sloshing around town running errands, I can get to it.

    Parent

    Here too (none / 0) (#46)
    by mmc9431 on Sat Mar 13, 2010 at 04:47:13 PM EST
    Chicago. Cold raining and gray. Typical March.

    Parent
    Messy St. Pat's Parade, eh? (none / 0) (#67)
    by jawbone on Sat Mar 13, 2010 at 06:40:04 PM EST
    Got Wind? (none / 0) (#28)
    by squeaky on Sat Mar 13, 2010 at 02:21:28 PM EST
    Compressed air storage looks like it is starting to take off as an alternate source of energy. Pretty cool idea, I am a fan already. It 's viability has to do with the increasing amount of wind farms and increasing expense of fossil fuels.  

    Based on the first commercial plant (.pdf) ever built in Huntorf, Germany, the Electric Power Research Institute and Nakhamkin's engineering firm came up with a plan to store compressed air in a salt dome in Alabama. They created a geological pocket 900 feet long and up to 238 feet wide in the dome by pumping water into it to dissolve the rock salt. When the (briny) water was pumped back out, the salt resealed itself and they had an air-tight container: "The solution-mined cavern is a large subterranean pressure vessel," as an EPRI report explained.

    During off-peak times, electricity runs a compressor which pumps the air down into the cavern. Then, when energy is needed, the air is released from the reserve to power a fairly standard turbine, with a little help from natural gas. The system has worked for more than 25 years.

    Wired

    Is that a rhetorical question. Speaking (none / 0) (#50)
    by oculus on Sat Mar 13, 2010 at 04:57:36 PM EST
    for myself only, seems to me any of us  posting frequently on a blog has wind to spare!

    Parent
    No (none / 0) (#55)
    by squeaky on Sat Mar 13, 2010 at 05:12:44 PM EST
    More like punning on the subject of "alternative" energy sources. But I imagine the wind that you are referring to doesn't limit itself to the internet. Plenty of blowhards out there in 3dimensional space and time, more than I can count.

    Parent
    *TSUISM: How many divisions had Pope Stupak? (none / 0) (#36)
    by RonK Seattle on Sat Mar 13, 2010 at 03:43:00 PM EST
    *[Though Sadly Unversed In Such Matters -- as no less authority than BTD himself assures me I am -- I could not resist speculating on what one might say IF one had a deeper grasp of the sausage-making process.]

    Today's consensus is that Rep. Bart Stupak's anti-abortion bloc appears smaller and smaller as it recedes in the rear-view mirror.

    Unwary popcorn-munchers with nothing better to do might amuse themselves with my earlier speculations on the subject.

    Briefly, to execute a hold-out hold-up like Stupak's, one must deliver the Yes votes if satisfied AND deliver the No votes if unsatisfied -- and even then, the agenda-meisters must require those votes.

    Among the "tells" deflating Stupak's bluff were the inclusion (on many speculative lists) of Rep. Berry (D-AR) and Rep. Cao (R-LA) -- both unequivocal No's no matter the disposition of Stupak's language.

    Wiser readers, of course, will pay no attention to this ignorant babble.

    I was really surprised to learn that there (none / 0) (#62)
    by tigercourse on Sat Mar 13, 2010 at 06:22:33 PM EST
    is only one woman coaching a highschool football team. There have to be thousands and thousands of teams. I would have expected more then 1 woman.

    I'm surprised there is one (none / 0) (#66)
    by ruffian on Sat Mar 13, 2010 at 06:39:10 PM EST
    Football is one of the few sports that women don't grow up playing themselves, except in a few isolated cases.

    Parent
    Joshua had a bday party to go to (none / 0) (#63)
    by Militarytracy on Sat Mar 13, 2010 at 06:32:27 PM EST
    today.  I ended up roller skating for the first time in like twelve years.  The last time I went skating was when his sister was five and I was teaching her.  She later became an obnoxious roller blader.  Joshua wanted to skate but we couldn't get skates on over his braces so he took one of those scooters out with me on skates skating and bending over pushing him.  I'll break my fool neck yet.  And money is wasted at the gym, go skating...you'll find your weak core strength instantly :)

    Especially bending over pushing something! (5.00 / 1) (#69)
    by jawbone on Sat Mar 13, 2010 at 06:45:22 PM EST
    Take a hot bath and some pain relief before you go to bed.

    Sounds like a good time otherwise.

    And hope your sinus problem improves. Spring and autumn, with the attendant greater air pressure differences, are my worst seasons.


    Parent

    I don't think I hurt myself (none / 0) (#71)
    by Militarytracy on Sat Mar 13, 2010 at 07:10:01 PM EST
    But I felt things wake up that haven't woke up in like 12 years so we will see.

    Parent
    No broken bones--that's a good thing. (5.00 / 1) (#70)
    by oculus on Sat Mar 13, 2010 at 06:45:50 PM EST
    Heh, your optimism is overwhelming (none / 0) (#72)
    by Militarytracy on Sat Mar 13, 2010 at 07:10:44 PM EST
    The very last time I roller skated I ended (none / 0) (#79)
    by oculus on Sun Mar 14, 2010 at 12:17:43 AM EST
    up at urgent care due to a very swollen arm--but it resolved on its own.

    Parent
    Speaking from experience then? (none / 0) (#80)
    by Militarytracy on Sun Mar 14, 2010 at 07:42:46 AM EST
    My husband said last night that his RA is doing much better now even though he decided to begin the initial treatment and deploy at the same time.  I personally had my doubts.  He says a few mornings a week he wakes up to his hands being a little bit sore and he has a few momentary short and strange aches and pains here and there.  They just retested him for rh factor but he hasn't gotten the results back yet.

    Parent
    That's encouraging news. (none / 0) (#81)
    by oculus on Sun Mar 14, 2010 at 11:23:45 AM EST
    *TSUISM: No Public Option? No big deal. (none / 0) (#73)
    by RonK Seattle on Sat Mar 13, 2010 at 07:32:24 PM EST
    *[Though Sadly Unversed In Such Matters -- as no less authority than BTD himself assures me I am -- I could not resist speculating on what one might say IF one had a deeper grasp of the sausage-making process.]

    Once the current HCR package passes, the skids are greased for a variety of classic Hacker public options and/or incremental "Medicare for More" broadening of single payer.

    Huh? How can that be???

    Legislators, constituents, interest groups may oppose the "HCR I" package as a whole on account of a whole gamut of real and perceived particulars (from their diverse perspectives) ...
    mandates, subsidies, regulations, deficit concerns, etc.

    Including the public option now would only add to the list of objections that can peel off supportive votes. It won't add any votes (even Kucinich)

    But when "HCR I" is law, many of its natural enemies become natural P.O. supporters.

    With HCR I "in the bank", original points of objection (mandates, regulation, etc) become moot. Meanwhile, any P.O. is neutral or attractive to individual mandated policyholders in home districts. Likewise, it's a federal budget saver, attracting Congressional budget hawks in both caucuses -- many of whom are holdouts in the current legislative cliffhanger.

    Further, most options/extension moves can be constructed as grist for 50%+1 reconciliation in the Senate.

    Doesn't mean your choice of P.O. variations will pass later this session, and the D's may or may not sustain majorities in either house this Fall.

    But demand for the P.O. will swell, opposition will shrink, and the next move toward P.O. or S.P. will become politically risky for teh usual suspects.

    Another state goes whacky (none / 0) (#75)
    by mmc9431 on Sat Mar 13, 2010 at 08:50:50 PM EST
    Earlier I read about the Texas textbook fiasco. Now I read about films in Florida:

    A "family-friendly" bill is set to pass in Florida that would deny tax credits to movie and TV productions that feature gay characters, the Palm Beach Post reported this week. State tax laws already offer a 2% tax credit on production costs of "family-friendly" productions; the bill would raise that credit to 5% and ban productions promoting "nontraditional family values."

    I didn't realize that the economy in Florida was so good that they would be willing to kill filming in the state.

    So, we really went to Iraq (none / 0) (#82)
    by Inspector Gadget on Sun Mar 14, 2010 at 01:39:15 PM EST
    To see which of their rules for life and freedom should be implemented right here at home.


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