Two for the "like, duh" department:
U.S. may have botched training of Iraqis
Scientists Criticize White House Stance on Climate Change Findings
January 2007 Archives
Last night in Europe after a week of business across the pond. I've never been to Brussels before, so it was cool to get out for a walk to see La Grand-Place and have a nice dinner at a funky Italian/Continental place called Mystical Resto. Gotta love a place that has a red-walled bathroom with a bust of Jesus on a table and illuminated with black lights! It got an honorary mention (for it's "high goth" decor) on the Horror Cafes, Pubs, Clubs and Restaurants of the World site.
Brussels has really boomed since the European Commission took up residence. Went to a conference on information and communications technology (ICT) and energy efficiency at one of the EC buildings. The room was fully decked out in a UN kind of way: chairs arranged around huge circular tables, complete with translation headsets, big screens, etc. Beats the heck out of the usual dreary meeting room in the bowels of some over air conditioned hotel.
Really looking forward to heading home, though. Need a snuggle from a certain boy I know, and my clothes are disturbingly free of cat hair...
One of the joys of my current on-line existence is the Fake Steve Jobs blog. The reasons behind my infatuation? Here's one.
So, so wrong yet so, so right.
Brilliant move having Jim Webb give the SOTU response tonight. He came across as a wise, experienced, compassionate, firm voice. Zowee. How amazingly refreshing to have the Democrats execute a subtle, upbeat strategy move. Almost reminded me of the Clinton era. {insert longing *sigh* here}
Might we be looking at a "Jim Webb for President" play?
*sigh*
Not that it needs any more attention, but I have to say a few words about Hillary's Big Announcement today.
First, it's truly impressive how the first few pages of a Google search on her name currently yields a juggarnaut of campaign-related links. Combine that with the on-line venue for her couch chat and you have some serious web carpet bombing. Nicely done.
However.
There is no way in heck the middle of the country is going to vote for her. The 'Pubs have been developing their counter measures since she first ran for the Senate, and they're probably queuing the first one up on Faux News as we speak. By the time we get to 2008, they'll have pictures of her drinking the blood of innocents while her husband gets some intern action in the background.
You heard it here first-ish.
Test drove a Prius after work today. Pretty zippy; kind of distracting new car smell; lots of stuff that lights up inside; hella terrible visibility out the back window.
Overall a favorable impression; however, I'm still mulling the morality of buying a new (brand new) car for a few reasons. (1) Never have purchased a new car, and my upbringing creates echoes in my brain about instant depreciation, etc. (2) My current car is still in good working order. In fact, I still kind of dig it. I've never bought a different car until my existing wheels were just not adequate any more. Another artifact of my upbringing, no doubt. (3) Is it smart to drop money on a car instead of building up a war chest to invest in property?
I feel kind of dorky admitting it, but I started down this path when I saw "An Inconvenient Truth." At the end there are some messages about what each of us can do to combat climate change that appear on the screen. One of them reads: "Buy a hybrid car" or something similar. My favorable interpretation of my current new car obsession is that the film and my new job have inspired me. My unfavorable impression is that I'm just trying to be trendy. Right now I'm more fond of interpretation #1. Heck, even if it's a response to a trend, it's a trend worth supporting (gosh darn it).
Red ones are pretty....
