Freedom: As gas prices remain unstable, it's nice to have an option besides a big truck. So, I decided to take Major Leggett's long...

$1 Billion Doesn't Buy As Much House As It Used To Maybe I have unrealistic expectations, but for a billion bucks I'd want more tha...

Calico Jack: Probably many of you have not heard of "Calico Jack" Rackham , a pirate famous mostly because of his crew. Specifica...

What Do You Know About Ants? It's probably wrong . The interesting question, though, is why it's wrong.

"Quasi" I've long been sanguine about China's rise; but it's a matter that needs watching and some management from us,...

And There Shall Be Wailing and Gnashing of Teeth: Here's a story that is going to produce some upset in the hearts and stomachs of many...

Swords and Idiots in Prague: It is a well known fact that more people are killed by their mouths than anything other single object.

Bogus Bank, Member F.D.I.C. Did you think it was bad enough that mountains of money was loaned to homeowners who couldn't even remotely ...

Grim's... er, Grimm's Fairy Tales: Details, details : The most profound contrast between the Grimms’ Snow White and Disney’s is the ...

The Sign on my Office Door: Sovay, whom some of you will remember from the early days of the blog, sent me this today. I liked it so much i...

Pathetic, Arrogant, Alarming: This is a Congresswoman? The questioner asks: So, ma'am, what is the Constitutional basis for the individ...

Free Association: Gallup asks: what word or words come to mind when we say, "Federal Government" ? The word cloud looks about rig...

I Am Not a Witch Christine O'Donnell is reported to think this SNL parody is very funny. I do, too.

Music That's in My Head Tonight Tonight was my church's annual amateur stage show. I sang a version of "Barbara Allen" th...

Here You Go, Lars: A "Pompeii" in Norway . By the way, I don't know if you've noticed, but our boy Lars has been in the ne...

Dum Vivimus, Vivamus I've just begun a new biography of Robert Heinlein, which has this epigraph from Robert Louis Stevenson's essay...

Fun with Quizzes A friend sent this link to a civics quiz , with the information that 96% of high school seniors and 50% of Americans over 5...

Natural Slaves: Rush Limbaugh , radio show: [T]here is no equality. You cannot guarantee that any two people will end up the same. And you c...

Mozzarella A culinary milestone! For some time now I've been wanting to learn to make cheese. I sent off for some basic supplies and c...

Rescuers Break Through to Trapped Chilean Miners Some weeks back they were warning this might not happen for three or four months. Now it ...