So we’ve reached the last TMQ of the interregnum. What pressing questions were you hoping TMQ would answer? “What does Bin Laden’s death mean for U.S./Pakistan relations?” “Trump: serious contender or joke?” Nope…
TMQ Watch: May 3, 2011.
May 3rd, 2011The end of the beginning.
May 2nd, 2011The news came by way of an email from Andrew “Junketeer” Wimsatt as I was leaving for work this morning.
I’m still digesting the events, but here’s some preliminary thoughts:
- Barack Obama just insured his reelection in 2012.
- You know all those Carter/Obama comparisons? Yeah, Obama just made sure those are going to get dropped by the side of the road too. “Hey, at least the Obama administration managed to successfully execute a military operation!”
- I want to ask “How do we know? Could it have been just another bin Laden clone?” Answer: “DNA tests confirmed his identity later in the day“. Question: how do we have his DNA?
- What does this do for US/Pakistan relations? It seems clear that Pakistan has been hiding bin Laden for years, and I find it hard to believe the government of Pakistan was not somehow involved.
- So we’ve still got to worry about the Muslim Brotherhood, Ayman Zawahiri, and every other two-bit terrorist organization out there.
- “After what the president described as a firefight, they killed Bin Laden.” Makes you wonder; was Bin Laden shooting back, or did they kill his guards and then execute him? Did he have any last words? Did the folks who shot him have a cutting remark appropriate to the situation?
- Somebody’s going to get a NYT bestseller out of this.
- A whole bunch of somebodies will never have to pay for a drink for the rest of their lives.
- And there’s going to be a whole lot of posers.
It isn’t over yet, folks. I think we can take a day to celebrate (is this how folks felt when Hitler’s death was announced?), but this isn’t the end.
(Speaking of the end, subject line hattip.)
Edited to add 1: “American officials said Bin Laden resisted and was shot in the head.” Heh. “What’s the last thing that went through Bin Laden’s mind before he died?” NYT obit here.
Edited to add 2: Lawrence disagrees both with my use of insure (which I think is justified, in the sense of “killing Bin Laden was like purchasing an insurance policy against defeat in 2012”) and the substance of that position. (Check the trackbacks for the link.) I’ll admit that was a quick take, without the benefit of sober reflection. I’ll also admit this is why I usually leave the geopolitics to him. However, I think my position is defensible depending on who runs against Obama in 2012. Trump? Obama could run campaign ads consisting of nothing but 30 seconds of a still photo of Bin Laden with head wound and win. On the flip side, if the mission commander suddenly outs himself and declares for the Republican nomination in 2012…
Edited to add 3: Because it just isn’t a celebration without cake. Thanks to Borepatch for the inspiration.
Notes on Full English.
May 1st, 2011I’ve been driving past Full English for a couple of months now. It’s located behind a convenience store/gas station on Manchaca, very close to Tex-Guns (official purveyor of arms to WCD). However, I hadn’t had a chance to stop in until today.
How was it? A little rough around the edges, but I liked it more than Lucky J’s Chicken and Waffles. Some notes:
- I’d love to see a real menu. They’ve got a printed all day breakfast menu. It looks like they have some pastries and cakes, that they do high tea, and apparently they serve bangers and mash (at least on Friday night). I’d love to be able to find out what else they offer, or even if they do offer other stuff.
- I can’t tell until I know what they do offer if they need to expand their menu. I’d love to find someplace that does good fish and chips, for example, or meat pies. It looks like they’re trying for at least a beer and wine license; I have hopes that maybe we’ll see some traditional pub grub added.
- The bangers and back bacon were quite good. The pork is locally sourced, and the sausages are apparently made in house.
- I recommend against ordering coffee. I’d probably get a soda instead. (They have Mexican Coke, if you’re in the area and want a pure cane sugar fix.)
- There’s a bit of a slacker vibe to the place, but nowhere near as bad as Lucky J’s. Their music choices were much less obtrusive.
- Damn, but I want one of those “You Are Now Leaving The American Sector” posters. (The Checkpoint Charlie museum doesn’t seem to have an online shop set up, and Google is no help in finding other sources.)
Would I go back? I want to see these folks make a go of it. I’d have to be in a specific mood to get the English breakfast again, but I’d like to try some of their sandwiches and perhaps pastries as well.
TMQ Watch: April 26, 2011.
April 29th, 2011WCD got into it a bit last week with Lawrence over the merits of the NFL draft. It is our position that the draft just really isn’t that important to NFL teams. We do not dismiss the draft totally; a team may get lucky and pick up, say, an Earl Campbell. But teams are just as likely to get lucky and pick up, say, a JaMarcus Russell. Our belief is that good coaching, good team building, and good player selection (remember, players don’t have to come from the draft; undrafted unwanted free agents that do surprisingly well are an ongoing TMQ trope) are more important than draft choices.
With that introduction out of the way, let’s jump into TMQ’s annual “mock the mock drafts” column.
Do not taunt Happy Fun Bubble.
April 29th, 2011A casual conversation on our way to dinner led us to this Wall Street Journal article about Crayola’s Washable Colored Bubbles product.
Crayola figured out a way to make colored bubbles (excuse us, “bubbles of color”) on demand. This is a pretty hard problem if you understand anything about the physics of soap bubble formation; you’re talking about surfaces thousands of times thinner than a human hair. Conventional dyes won’t work, so Crayola’s invention is kind of a big deal.
Crayola’s invention also stains things. Permanently. At least that’s what some parents are claiming. (A quick look of my own at the Amazon product reviews suggests that the WSJ may have slightly overstated the number of negative reviews. Or Amazon may have pulled some.)
Why are we reminded of the classic phrase “hypergolic with such things as cloth, wood, and test engineers“?
We briefly considered picking some of this up for our younger relatives, but then had second thoughts; we much prefer our spleen where it currently is, on the inside of our body, as opposed to having it yanked out violently through our nose.
“150 g of pidgeon gizzards”
April 29th, 2011We have previously made note of Modernist Cuisine: The Art and Science of Cooking
Now, also by way of the NYT, we have coverage of the book’s errata. Wouldn’t want to overcook those scrambled eggs there, Bob.
Also, we’ll toss up a link for our great and good friend Glen, who is a big Negroni fan.
Things have been kind of slow this week, and we have also been coming off either a cold or an allergic reaction to all the crap floating around in the air. We are aware TMQ has a new column up (his annual “mock draft”) and plan to blog that in the TMQ Watch, perhaps as early as tonight.
This is relevant to my interests.
April 27th, 2011I have a long standing fascination with homebrew radiation detection and measuring equipment, so the concept of the iGeigie (a Geiger counter that connects to your iPhone) intrigues me. (The iGeigie website doesn’t appear to be working at the moment, but here’s a link to a Make: Online blog entry.)
I’m also pretty fascinated by what Safecast is doing.
And by this older Make: Online homebrew Geiger counter schematic.
And this summary of Geiger counter kits and projects.
Yes, I think I will throw a few dollars at Safecast’s Kickstarter project, thanks for asking.
(Hattip: Wil Wheaton.)
Noted without comment.
April 27th, 2011Deadline Hollywood is reporting that there’s a deal to continue Robert Parker’s Spenser and Jessie Stone mystery series, under the authorship of Michael Brandman (for the Jessie Stone books) and Ace Atkins (for the Spenser books).
I was previously unfamiliar with Mr. Brandman, but the linked article reports that he’s a co-writer and producer of the Jessie Stone TV movies, and previously did three Spenser adaptations for A&E. Ace Atkins
Obit watch: April 26, 2011
April 26th, 2011Poly Styrene (birth name Marianne Joan Elliott-Said), singer for the X-Ray Spex, has died.
The LAT “Pop and Hiss” blog has a surprisingly good appreciation of her work, including videos. (However, the video for “Oh Bondage, Up Yours” cuts off the famous opening. Here’s a better version. I will say, though, that I think Randall Roberts is pretty much right on about the song, and about Poly Styrene’s influence on the punk movement.)
Mexican “gun” ducks!
April 25th, 2011I’m kind of stepping on Weer’d Beard’s territory here (sorry, Weer’d), but this HouChron story is too fascinating and disturbing to pass up:
More:
Of course, they bought those grenades at gun stores and gun shows in the United States.
And:
Clearly, what Mexico needs is stronger sledgehammer control. And to sue American sledgehammer manufacturers.
10.5 hour party people.
April 25th, 2011Because I’m old and can’t do 24 hours any longer.
This weekend was the combined birthday party/1970’s crime film fest.
No, the cake was not a lie, and I think that came out pretty well. I was impressed that the Sam’s bakery called me to tell me my dates didn’t add up. (They were misreading my handwriting.) Now that’s customer service.
The absinthe went over pretty well, though I think I need to work on proportions. At the recommendation of one of the liquor guys at Spec’s, I’ve been using an Irish coffee glass for absinthe, and my typical pour is two ounces of absinthe, topped off with cold water and one sugar cube. At that level, I can feel an effect. Not anything trippy, just a good solid knock (and that wears off in an hour or so). I think next time I make a glass, I may try two sugar cubes instead of one, but I tend to like things sweet.
The Kraken spiced rum also went over well, though I didn’t care much for it straight; I can see that it would go well with the right mixer (maybe some Dublin Dr. Pepper?). I still haven’t tried any of the Crystal Head. I was trying to be moderate in my drinking, since I had to drive, and as fun as it sounds, drinking Scotch whiskey all night long and dying behind the wheel is a sub-optimal evolutionary strategy.
We only got to two of the movies on our list. Possible spoilers follow.
Football players go wild!
April 22nd, 2011Felony possession of a firearm. Drug possession. Theft. Four arrests in one week.
Sounds like the UT football players have gotten out of hand, doesn’t it?
Oh, I’m sorry. Did I say UT? I meant Rice University.
(Sadly, these arrests weren’t enough to push Rice onto the board in the most recent Fulmer Cup update. Maybe next week?)
Baseball. You bet.
April 20th, 2011The Los Angeles Dodgers are now being run by Major League Baseball.
And we’re only 1/10th of the way through the season.
I may have more to say on this later. Not sure.
Excess is success.
April 20th, 2011This is something I’d consider purchasing if I had excess money, though it’d be low on the list. We spend enough time on the toilet; why shouldn’t it be a pleasant experience?
The Screwpull
Obit watch: April 20, 2011.
April 20th, 2011William A. Rusher, former publisher of National Review and a noted “conservative strategist”. National Review tributes here.
Tim Hetherington, co-director of “Restrepo”, killed by a mortar attack in Libya.
Edited to add: Chris Hondros, a photographer for Getty Images, was also seriously wounded in the same attack. Romenesko is now reporting that Hondros has died from his injuries.