Sleepless in Midland

Make pirates walk the plank

This current high seas piracy problem seems to be all about money. Now that's something we can understand. Apparently, until recently the cost to the ship owners was not high enough to get it on the front pages. But now that they've got our attention, let's take a look at it.

The pirate's business plan fails if the cost of doing business exceeds the expected profit. So we simply need to raise the cost of doing that nasty business. See Popular Mechanics for a summary of the problems and some of the proposed solutions.

In the pre-Depp pirate movies I grew up watching, the pirates who got captured were walked off the plank, keel hauled, or something equally punitive. And today? Watch out for the Indian Navy. Recently it destroyed a pirate "mother ship." See Defense News. Excerpt:

An exchange of fire ensued, causing explosions and the navy ship then used heavy guns. "From what we see in photographs the pirate vessel is completely destroyed," a senior officer said on condition he not be named.

(Side note, Al-Jazeera had helpfully broadcast a tape of the pirates' ransom demand.)

But for non-government ship owners contemporary pirates present a contemporary problem -- capture them and they become a problem for captors' government as they plead for mercy, asylum, etc. Or try to kill them and innocents might die, then the next battle would be in the courtroom of the nearest plaintiff friendly jurisdiction.

So the ship owners are on the lookout for non-lethal deterrents. One low tech item is a net deployed around a ship to entangle attacking boat propellers. See Wired. This type defense was developed at least 5 years ago and would only be useful when the ship is idle -- no help for a slow moving vessels that seem to be prime targets. The government name for this net is "Mark 11 Static Barrier Running Gear Entanglement System."

There are Magnetic Audio Devices which make a lot of noise, supposedly enough noise to deter pirates. See Technology sets sights on piracy which also mentions high pressure water hoses and electric fences (for ships carrying nonflammable cargo).

But the acoustic system may really only provide a temporary defense. The other day pirates captured the MV Biscagua which was equipped with an acoustic defense and a three man unarmed security team. A November 28, 2008 press release from the security company says:

APMSS security team embarked upon MV BISCAGLIA came under sustained and heavy attack from pirates earlier this morning. Reports remain confused however we believe that the embarked 3 man APMSS security team (comprising former British military servicemen) were able to mount sustained, non-lethal, resistance, denying the attacker’s access to the ship long enough for the ship’s operating crew to seek safety below decks and to summon assistance from coalition warships.

Reports suggest that the security team were only finally overwhelmed when attackers gained access to the ship and continued to fire upon the embarked security team.

So the ship's crew got safely below, and the security team jumped ship and were rescued by helicopter. Via Maritime Accident Casebook and Kennebec Captain.)

Therefore, apparently a well defended cargo ship these days has a noise maker, a water gun, and maybe a big Taser. Since these things don't seem to be working they need to raise the cost of the piracy business by employing defenses that wouldn't necessarily fall in the category of "non-lethal." Don't take a water gun to a gun fight.

Cell Phone Gun

It looks like something Ian Flemming might have imagined for a 007 agent like Bond, James Bond.

It's a gun that looks like a cell phone recently seized by Italian Police. The bullets appear to be .22 caliber rimfire.

Well, we wondered whether cell phone usage could cause brain damage.

Via 2dayblog; gizmodo; and fotoglif.

Captured alive in Mumbai massacre: Azam Amir Kasav

The Mumbai Mirror tells the story:

According to sources, the casualty ward of Nair hospital was evacuated and the Anti-Terror Squad moved in to interrogate him. Azam who was tightlipped initially, cracked upon seeing the mutilated body of his colleague and pleaded with the medical staff at Nair to save his life. “I do not want to die,” he reportedly said. “Please put me on saline.”

Ammunition, a satellite phone and a layout plan of CST was recovered from him. According to sources, the young terrorist has given the investigators vital leads including how the chief planner of the Mumbai terror plot had come to the city a month ago, took pictures and filmed strategic locations and trained their group and instructed them to “kill till the last breath”. Every man was given six to seven magazines with fifty bullets each, eight hand grenades per terrorist with one AK-57, an automatic loading revolver and a supply of dry fruits.

Azam reportedly disclosed that the group left Karachi in one boat and upon reaching Gujarat they hoisted a white flag on their boat and were intercepted by two officers of the coast guard near Porbandar and while they were being questioned, one of the terrorists grappled with one of the officers, slit his throat and threw the body in the boat. The other officer was told to help the group reach Mumbai. When they were four nautical miles away from Mumbai, there were three speedboats waiting for them where the other coastguard officer was killed. All the ammo was then shifted into these three speedboats. They reached Colaba jetty on Wednesday night and the ten men broke up into groups of two each. Four of these men went to the Taj Mahal hotel, two of them to the Trident hotel, two towards Nariman Point at Colaba and two of which Azam was one, moved to CST.

Azam, who was Nair hospital for nearly four hours, was taken away by the intelligence agencies in the early hours of Thursday to an unknown location after the hospital authorities had removed the bullet from his hand and declared that his condition was stable.

But it seems the police grilling was so intense that before he left the hospital for an undisclosed location, he pleaded with the police and the medical staff to kill him. “Now, I don’t want to live,” he said.

And maybe it's just a coincidence, but Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar, a Mumbai mobster wanted by Interpol for weapons smuggling, among other things, is said to be hiding out in Pakistan. Several stories are speculating his involvement. See for example Hindustan Times.

Is Mumbai a gun free zone?

Just wondering. Are civilians allowed to carry weapons in India? Even so, a hotel filled with foreign tourists would still provide a mostly unarmed target population.

In the U.S. it seems that all of those hostage type multiple killings take place in gun free zones. Little wonder. Any potential killer with logic will aim to minimize any harm to himself before discharging his weapons. And international terrorists have certainly demonstrated their logic.

The recent hostage taking and massacre in Mumbai have dominated TV screens and riveted the world's attention. And as of the time of this AP report casualties were estimated to be around 150. Some earlier reports that Americans, Brits and Israelis had been singled out don't seem to be substantiated by the casualty stats.

Apparently the gunmen first tossed in grenades then entered firing their guns. Americans flipping between football and terrorism on their tvs were left wondering, "What would I have done?" And had we been there we would have had little choice but to try to hide. It would have been a steak-knife-at-a-gunfight type situation.

Maybe, just maybe, a well armed citizenry could have fared a little better. We'll never know. And hopefully we won't have to learn the answer here in the U.S.

thankful for the little creatures ...

Thanksgiving, the day we are supposed to be thankful and appreciate what we've got. But let's narrow it down and today be thankful for the lesser creatures.

Dogs -- They'll be there when we need them and even when we don't. They are as loyal as the day is long, and all they want in return is a little attention and a lot of treats. Ya just gotta love a good dog.

Cats -- There some cats that are genuinely fun to have around. They like people and love to play. Most cats are not like that, though. So if you have one of the other kind, good luck with that.

Turkeys -- Now that's good eaten'. They were custom made for the dinner table, they feed a lot of people, and they make good leftovers. Many people apparently didn't know this until the Sarah Palin turkey slaughter video made national news, but farm turkeys are creatures raised for the singular purpose of feeding humans. But maybe some day we won't have to kill animals to feed ourselves, and science will have advanced food production to the extent that animals needn't suffer. We'll eat something equally nourishing, Soylent Green, maybe.

Anyway, let's all be thankful. And here's a special thanks to you, too for taking the time out of your day to read this stuff. If just one person is entertained by this then my day is complete.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

"The Shield" ends -- Tonight's the night!

The grand finale. The final episode of the final season. There have been many a cliff hanger leading up to this, and tonight's episode of The Shield should bring the sordid tale of Vic Mackey and his team of corrupt cops to an exiting close.

The show's writers have really earned their pay. The dialog has been tremendous, and the story has been gripping. Sometimes the viewer has had to suspend his/her skepticism and sometimes the viewer has had to hold his/her nose to the atrocities. But it's been a pretty good tale.

So how will it end? It's anybody's guess. There's always the possibility that it will end "Sopranos" style with a simple scene fade to the credits. But surely the writers have more respect for the fans. The episode preceding the finale showed Vic Mackey in about the worst light as we've seen him in. One five word review simply said "42 seconds of silence: Emmy, " referring to the confession Mackey made to earn Federal immunity and that long, long pause between the time the recorder began to roll and the time Mackey finally began his confession to premeditated murder.

(Side question: Would immunity granted by the feds make him immune from state charges, too? I wouldn't have thought so, but surely the writers' have legal advisers who wouldn't want to mislead viewers. But l don't know, that's why I'm asking.)

Anyway, Mackey really looked villainous in that last episode, so it's possible they are setting us up to see him meet his maker. It's hard to imagine him getting away with all he's done or even going to prison, but that's up to the writers. If I were writing it I'd have him die a hero's death saving the life of someone he had hurt, but we'll know soon.

Post show follow up: Well, okay. It could have been better, but that will do. At least it wasn't an open ended ending like "The Sopranos."  We were expected to think Vic Mackey would be punished in his own Hell on earth having to wear a suit and tie while confined to a bureaucratic desk job for the next three years drawing 60 plus thousand dollars a year. That's worse than prison? Death?

All through his tenure as a cop he was superb at gaming the system, and there's no reason to think he wouldn't be equally adept at office politics. So we last see him working late then slipping his semiauto in his belt and walking away, presumable to ply his trade on the mean streets of L..A., or maybe just to go home and watch "The Office."

Goodbye Vic Mackey and the Farmington Strike Team. We loved you, and we hated you. You definitely weren't role models, but we enjoyed the show.

Sunday Diversions 11/23/08

For starters -- Evelien Lohbeck studied animation in the Netherlands and has produced some interesting little movies. See her work at her Youtube page, and if you've ever used a notebook computer check out Noteboek.

Moving right along -- Do people actually read the words on T-shirts people wear? Do the wearers pick their T-shirts for the occasion? See 15 most unfortunate T-shirts for a mugshot and judge for yourself. Some examples: "Wish you were here." "Nobody's perfect." "Every great idea I have gets me in trouble."

Graffiti or art?

Here's an interesting set of photos of painted storm drains. They are all very creative, and some are quite amusing. Here's a sample.

Check out the whole series at storm drain graffiti.

Via Quick Notes.

Kids for Obama

Here's something that's been around for a few months, but I was not aware of it until today. Mr. Obama had a campaign website for underage children. Here's the link where one could read such entries as "Senator Biden is now my homeboy."

Best of all are the tips for kids, for example:

• Download the Obama logo pdf, color it, and display it at your home or school;
• Implement T-Shirt Thursday. Get friends to wear an official Obama for America T-Shirt to school;
• Post an official Obama for America Campaign sticker/logo on your school bag; and
• Host a Senator Barack Obama House Party or sleep-over.

The purpose of the website was to get kids to campaign for Obama, and the last entry is a video of the election night speech. So one has to wonder whether the site will be kept current or whether the kiddos have served their purpose.

Presumably it's all legal, but there's something creepy about the exploitation of children like this.  It's sort of like those tv cartoons that were nothing more than toy advertisements, minus the parental outrage.

Anyway, he got what he wanted from then, so here's hoping that he will leave them alone from here on out. Can't you just see it? "Kids for compulsory community service." "Kids for an auto company bailout."

Fairy Tales, etc.

There's a little known educational opportunity in Midland every third Wednesday at the Midland Public Library called the Brown Bag Lunch speaker series.

This past Wednesday the speaker was the Library Volunteer Coordinator, Ann Parish, and her topic was fairy tales. Now hold on, don't click away because of the title. It really was a good program.  Here's the speaker's book list (pdf)

She told about some variations of the three little pigs story including a feminist version and one from the wolf's point of view -- he had a cold, he sneezed the little houses down, and there was dinner all laid out. Is that so wrong?

And did you know that there are thousands of variations of the Cinderella story? There was the original Brothers Grim fable in which the step sisters mutilated their feet to get them into that golden slipper. Read the original here. That must have been a bit too gory for Walt Disney, so his movie was much more kid friendly.

The speaker saved the best for last, "Bubba the Cowboy Prince." From the author's website:

Bubba is bossed around the family ranch by his wicked step daddy and his nasty stepbrothers, Dwayne and Milton. Bubba never complains, though. He's a real cowboy - tough as leather and cute as a cow's ear! When Miz Lurleen, the purtiest rancher in Texas, decides to throw a ball to find herself a feller, Bubba has to stay at home. "You smell more like the cattle than the cattle do," taunt Dwayne and Milton. But with the help of Bubba's FAIRY GODCOW, and a little Texas magic, Miz Lurleen finds the cowboy Prince she's always dreamed of. With it's western language and humor, the Texas retelling of Cinderella will really rope in the readers.

Check the library calendar for upcoming library events.

Added later -- Here's a librarian with a much different tale.

It's a Bro! It's a Manzier!

Fans of "Seinfeld" will remember the episode in which Kramer and Frank Costanza invented a men's bra. But the project froze because they couldn't agree on whether to call it a "bro" or a "manzier."

Too late. A Japanese company is making the men's bra. See MSNBC. Excerpt:

Wishroom Executive Director Akiko Okunomiya said she was surprised at the number of men who were looking for their inner woman.

“I think more and more men are becoming interested in bras. Since we launched the men's bra, we've been getting feedback from customers saying 'wow, we'd been waiting for this for such a long time',” she said.

But the bra, available in black, pink and white, is not an easy sell for all men.

You don't say.  What man wouldn't want a pink manzier for Christmas?

Via library news.

Palin and the turkey farm video

Very amusing. Judging from the response to the video -- see huffpost -- one would think that people thought Thanksgiving turkeys were delivered by refrigerator truck rather than by egg via hen.

When I saw the video I was reminded of the reports that Saddam Hussein had fed humans into a metal shredder. If he liked them they were pushed in head first. The irony is that the many of the same people who are feigning horror at the turkey video were so tolerant of the Saddam torture regime and wished so strongly that the U.S. had not interrupted the Hussein reign.

Let them eat tofurkey.

Obama and email

We learn from the news that Pres. Obama is going to have to give up email. It's the fear of FOIA, you see.

Anyway, one of the Sleepless IT gals somehow got blind copied on a bunch of Obama's emails. She only got Obama's side of the conversation, so you have to fill in the missing parts. We didn't want to do it, but In the interest of public awareness we have no choice but to publish them. So here goes. Remember, these are Obama's outgoing emails only.

-Dear Minister. Thank you for the kind email notifying me about that Nigerian treasurer's money you wish to put in my personal bank account. Please put it in my campaign chest instead.

-I just received another email saying I wasn't really born in Hawaii. Can we squash this by simply showing my birth certificate?

-What???? Then make up something!!!! NOW!!!!!

-OMG, we one! Get it? "One" instead of "won." Pretty good, huh? I got a million of 'em. I should do standup! "Yo mamma so fat she ... um ... uh ..." I'll get back to you.

-It's President Elect Barack Obama! Stop calling me "O!"

-There was a Fox News reporter out there picking his nose. GET THAT SLOB OUT OF THERE!

-What? He's with MSNBC? He's one of ours. Tell him he can stay, and I'm sorry, blah blah blah and all that BS.

-Secretary of State? Are you out of your mind? I wouldn't appoint her dog catcher!

-Reverend Jeremiah, thanks for the letter. I hope you enjoyed the vacation. About your request, we would love to have you at the White House. But we're all booked up for the near future, check back in 2012. Late 2012.

-Bill Ayers! Bless you dog. I couldn't have pulled this off if you hadn't clammed up like you did. I owe you, man.

-Yo Rezko, thanks for the shout out. Now shut the F___ up!

-Hey Bill. Dubya wouldn't say squat. Where can a brother hide his stash in the House?

How Obama got elected

We're a bunch of sore losers, aren't we? Yeah, but here's more bashing of the main stream media anyway.

Anyone observing the campaigns and the coverage thereof has to have noticed how the MSM pushed so hard for Obama. Anything negative about Obama was ignored or downplayed, and negative things about McCain/Palin got the overkill treatment by the MSM.

Along comes How Obama got elected which cites, among other things, a Zogby poll which seeks to points out how little many Obama voters knew about their candidate, but how well informed they were about such things as the fact that Sarah Palin has a pregnant teenage daughter. Anyway, the folks at How Obama got elected are planning a documentary about it.  Should be interesting.

Via Wizbang.

Hey Scofield brothers, call your office

Fans of the tv show "Prison Break" have had to suspend their skepticism so many times their heads spin. Never mind that the break-out, break-in schemes are so intricate and rely so heavily on observer inattention, coincidence and just plain dumb luck. Their successes defy logic, but what the heck, it's great entertainment.

Now here comes a story of a real prison break in Germany. He made it seem so easy, he had himself shipped out. Here's what the BBC says:

A manhunt is under way in western Germany for a convicted drug dealer who escaped by mailing himself out of jail.

The 42-year-old Turkish citizen - who was serving a seven-year sentence - had been making stationery with other prisoners destined for the shops.

At the end of his shift, the inmate climbed into a cardboard box and was taken out of prison by express courier. His whereabouts are still unknown.

If found, return to sender.

Via Impact Lab.

Correction: Actually, the "Prison Break" brothers, Michael Scofield and Lincoln Burrows, have different last names. Sorry about that.

A picture of California

I don't want to violate someone's copyright by reproducing their photo, so you'll have to click the link to see it. Taken in Yorba Linda, California, on 11/15/08, it's sooooo California today: A hill side road, palm trees, a smoky sky, flames in the background, a guy texting while standing on a Segway.

Click to see photo at Getty Images.

"Accidental Friendship," a cop feel good movie

A cop with a heart of gold. It's Accidental Friendship, a Hallmark channel movie airing tonight, 11/15/08, at 8 central. "Inspired by a true story," it's about a Los Angeles Police Officer who befriends a homeless person.

Here's what the LAPD Blog says about it:

The movie tells the inspiring story of the life of Yvonne Caldwell (played by actress Chandra Wilson), who gradually found her comfortable life transformed as she went from joblessness to homelessness to a life of total destitution. Yvonne was befriended by LAPD Officer Tami Baumann (played by actress Kathleen Munroe), who was affected by the way Yvonne cared for her three pet dogs, Bebe, Mimi and Peewee. Yvonne could hardly care for her own well being, yet she made sure her dogs were well cared for. Yvonne and Officer Buamann found common ground in their mutual love of animals and their friendship blossomed from there. With Officer Baumann’s help, Yvonne was ultimately able to regain the comfort of her former life and the hope of a brighter future.

It looks like a pleasant antidote to the depressing "Training Day."

Hey buddy, can you spare a million?

Most of us are still scratching our heads about that Emergency Economic Stabilization Act and the bailout business, and we are wondering why the auto manufacturers need it, too, or more to the point, why we should give it too them.

But never mind. If the nation is going to ruin, why not get in on the action and take a bite off the old carcass before it's all gone? After all, society has always forgiven cannibalism in dire circumstances.

Here's a link to the short application that bailout applicants are expected to submit for anyone wanting to get in on it.

Dear Federal Banking Agency:

Please accept this application for $1 Million in TARP funds for Sleepless in Midland. While Sleepless isn't a bank or holding company, if it were, it would certainly comply with all bank laws. It does in fact provide a service to citizens as a source of information and humor thus providing just enough diversion to help them remain the productive tax paying and mortgage paying citizens that they are.

I do ask for one exception. The form says, "The minimum amount eligible for purchase under the CPP is the amount equal to 1 percent of the Total Risk-Weighted Assets of the applicant." Rather than a market valuation which would render this applicant's value at zero, I elect to use an expectational valuation of $100 million. One percent of that would be a mere million dollars, and for that you will be the proud owner of a full 1% of this blog.

Thank you for your consideration of this application, and I look forward to the receipt of the check.

P.S. Since the deadline was 11/14/08 my excuse for tardiness is that I had some really, really important stuff to do yesterday.

The treasury yield curve and the stock market

The stock market gave a strong "no confidence" vote to Mr. Obama following the election, but today the market had a nice up day. Ordinarily an up move of 552.92 points on the DOW would look pretty good. But considering that today's DOW close of 8835.25 is almost 4400 points lower than it was a year ago, there's not a lot to get the saliva glands going.

Is this the end of bear market or a dead cat bounce? The treasury yield curve shows a pretty steep upward slope, and under normal circumstances that might indicate that bond investors anticipate a stronger economy and higher inflation in the years ahead. (A downward slope would indicate they expect a weak economy.)

But Randall Forsyth presents a more ominous view in Barron's. His theory is that the U.S. has become a credit risk because of all the government spending during weak economic times. Tax revenues will decline due to lower incomes, and a higher tax rate will be a counter productive drag on the economy. In other words, the U.S. has become a high risk borrower that has to pay a higher interest rate in order to borrow money. We're number one, in debt!

It's not an encouraging prospect. But there's no use crying about it, let's figure out an investment strategy.

The best time to buy stocks is when no one in his right mind would buy stocks. Are we there yet? When the last bull standing throws in the towel and decides to sell out, that will mark the bottom of the bear market and the beginning of the bull market.

I've been saying that investors shouldn't sell into this down market. So as the market gets lower, I'm getting poorer. No prospects for a personal bailout on the horizon, either. Maybe I'm that last bull standing.

Therefore, here's your market indicator -- this will tell you when to buy. Whenever I throw in the towel, give up, sell my stocks, and advise others to do the same, then BUY BUY BUY! That will be the market bottom.

The Obamas redecorate the White House

"Honnnnnnneyyyyyy? Would it be OK if I put my Che poster here?"

"Don't bother me, I'm busy. Do whatever you want, Barack."

He rode Obama's coattails for straight party votes

What could go wrong?

A sizable number of people voted a straight Democratic Party ticket in Starr County, Texas. And it's possible that Reymundo Guerra simply rode Barack Obama's coattails back into the Sheriff's office. Otherwise there's something seriously wrong in Starr County (as opposed to just ordinarily wrong).

He's been sitting in jail without bond since mid October on Federal charges for conspiracy to distribute narcotics. But he got reelected sheriff of Starr County on November 4. See South Texas sheriff indicted, jailed, resigned, re-elected. Interesting excerpt:

Guerra is the seventh South Texas sheriff indicted on criminal charges in the last 14 years.

He received 7,144 votes, 6,272 of which were straight Democratic party votes. Interestingly, almost 900 voters voted for him deliberately. Hmmmm, I wonder what the predominate industry is in Starr County.

Hat tip Suzanne Scism Hildebrand.

So now they want to make nice, huh?

It's almost enough to cause temporary amnesia. The website is 52 to 48, and they invite readers to submit photos of themselves holding their "can't we all get along" photos directed at the voters who sided with the losing candidates in the past presidential election. It might even be persuasive if it weren't so similar to that Sorry Everybody thing from a few years ago. (Via Treacher.)

But what are ya gonna do? Those kids are so lovably sweet, sweeter than high fructose corn syrup. To be fair, there are some really decent people on the left, and some probably genuinely want be nice. But this just comes across all wrong and way too soon. Wounds take time to heal, and it's hard to forget about the name calling, the impeachment threats, the slander, the hostility, the yearning for a set back in Iraq so it would hurt the incumbent, the knee jerk opposition to everything GWB proposed, etc.

Obama and Congress have big spending plans, and they are going to face the tax collector's dilemma, how do you take people's money and make them like it? The O is going to need help -- all those high voter expectations, a recession knocking on the door, international bad boys feeling him out. It's almost as if they think they may need us some day.

But now I'm enjoying the relief. As someone who supported GWB and who has believed from the beginning that Iraq, the Middle East and the world is better off without Saddam Husein ruling Iraq, I'm relieved. The problems of the world are now someone else's responsibility. Their vacation is over, ours has just begun. They've spent the last eight years thinking the only problem in the U.S. was all those people who wanted a strong defense, more drilling, and lower taxes.  Well good luck to the victors. We'll offer helpful pointers when they screw up, useful advice when they are headed in the wrong direction, and constructive criticism where needed. But the burden is on their shoulders now.

Where's the world's wealth?

WorldMapper.org is a very enlightening website which has on display several cartograms -- maps with the land mass adjusted to exhibit the comparative size of various things.

The one you see here is titled Wealth 2002 with the borders adjusted to show purchasing power as of 2002. Little wonder that the U.S. is considered such a juicy target by so many within and without the country.

Wealth Growth and Wealth Decline are equally enlightening. Via a post in Discovering Biology displaying a worldwide rabies distribution map.

An economist has some sound advice for Mr. Obama

In Memo to the POTUS-elect Greg Mankiw provides some common sense advice to the president elect.  Excerpt:

Congratulations, Senator Obama. You ran a good campaign, and you racked up an historic victory. As you get ready for your new responsibilities, let me suggest four ways for you to become a reliable steward of the economy:

• Listen to your economists. ...

• Embrace some Republican ideas. ...

• Pay attention to the government’s budget constraint. ...

• Recognize your past mistakes. ...

As we listened to Mr. Obama during the campaign most of us knew that he couldn't possibly fulfill all of his promises.  He's going to need help.  And hopefully the advice he takes will be good advice, like Mr. Mankiw's suggestion to keep economists close by when dealing with Pelosi and Reid.

Implode

I don't know how long it took to build, but it took about 15 seconds for it to come down.

The Midland Savings Building in Midland, Texas, was brought down this morning by a series of explosions which caused it to implode. See a spread of photos taken just as the first explosions occurred and continuing until the dust filled the nearby streets at Implode 2008.

Sharp eyed observers will notice the frantic dog under the parking sign in the foreground of the photos.

Gotcha, journalism

A small dog on a leash typically feels very vulnerable, and that appeared to be the case when Barney, the White House dog, was out for a walk and a stranger approached. When a reporter came at his head he felt threatened. And in this instance, Barney bit -- a purely defensive reaction to the threat, a justifiable chomp, in my opinion.

See it happen at Youtube. Via Wizbang

Gosh, I hope this doesn't cause the President's liability insurance rates to go up.

South Park had the courage to poke fun at Obama

Gotta admire those South Park guys. With the main stream comedy shows going ga ga over Obama, South Park last night had a great send-up of Obama.

The plot had Obama fans getting drunk with liquor and adulation, and the McCain fans who didn't commit suicide hunkered in seclusion. So Obama gets into the White House and it turns out that McCain, Palin and the two Obamas were actually international jewel thieves, and the campaign thing was merely a plot to get access to a White House entrance to a tunnel that would lead them to the Hope Diamond.

They've skewered some very sacred cows in the past, so it shouldn't have come as a surprise. South Park may be the only comedy show, or at least one of the few, with the courage to ridicule Obama. We saw Bill Clinton's media honeymoon last some 16 years, and unless someone else comes along to steal their hearts, then Obama's media honeymoon will last much longer than those of us in the minority would like. So let's appreciate an attempt find some humor in all of this.

The episode can be viewed online here.

Updated: Episode to be re-aired 11/6/08 at 9 pm Central.

Woke up this morning

I expected the presidential race to have been much closer than it was, but that wasn't to be. In January we'll have a President Barack Obama, and John McCain will go into the record books as a brave hero and a strong challenger.

Obama has never been tested before, so now he's going to have to show strength he hasn't yet exhibited. Will Pelosi, Reid and others walk all over him? Will Obama be able to stand up to the international bad boys? Like it or not, we'll find out.

But for now I can't help but note that many of the people who are gushing about how great it is that a black man was elected President were fighting tooth and nail to block the appointment of the first black Supreme Court Justice.

Vote Aqui, Political Cookies and a Hat

In a few hours it will all be over but the litigation. So it's time to sweep out the pre-election stuff and get ready to move into the next arena.

Like the elderly -- but only a year old -- Father Time leaving the scene at the end of each year, let's exit this stage of the political theater with a few final photos.

(The cookies are from Nadler's in San Antonio.)

Join the military, see the world, your vote won't count.

There's an army of military voters out there. Military Times took an internet poll, and while the results may not be a representative sampling, the title to the article, Military Times poll: Troops backing McCain, does reflect the results. See the chart here - pdf. (Hat tip J.B.)

Regardless of their preferences, it's disheartening to learn that their votes may not get counted. See Troops overseas miss out on voting. Florida, which is said to be ahead of most other states in this regard, allows ballots to be emailed to the voter. But the voter has to use a fax machine or regular mail to send the ballot back. The overseas voter gets an extra ten days, but it can take up to three weeks for a letter to make the trip from the Middle East to Florida. And fax machines are scarce.

These are the people we send off to fight our wars. We owe it to them to see that their votes get counted.