Random
catdynamics | February 4, 2007First time in at least 5 years I am not on a plane or babysitting during the superbowl, and it is a decent game.
Sorry to say, Mr Smith, that it looks like Good Manning and Bad Grossman showed up.
Half-time show was one of the best in a long time, the mimic'd "wardrobe malfunction" by the dancers on Prince, the shadow theatre, the working in of Jimi's stuff ("All along the watchtower" a la Hendrix, brilliant and subversive) and the final "Purple Rain" was sublimely overblown yet appropriate.
Ads kinda sucked though.
"There must be some way out of here," said the joker to the thief,
"There…
catdynamics | February 2, 2007Two posts on the Presidential signing statement on HR5631 - the 2007 Department of Defence appropriations bill:
Original post noticing it
and second post speculating on the implications.
Any lawyers out there?
I seriously would like someone who speaks legalese to tell me this is ok and that I am being paranoid.
HR 5631
Presidential Signing Statement
I'm making other people paranoid - someone reassure us...
catdynamics | February 2, 2007Oh, mighty iPod one, whose wisdom is as varied as the flakes of snow on my window: what is the story on the second stars?
Whoosh goes the randomizer.
Whoosh.
The Covering: Little Man, What Now - Morrissey
The Crossing: Vinkonur - Andrea
The Crown: Poppstjarnan - Utangarðsmenn
The Root: Can't Cry Anymore - Sheryl Crow
The Past: Gata Dagsins - Spilverk Þjóðanna
The Future: Cielo e mari - Pavarotti
The Questioner: Tiento - Julian Bream
The House: Peter and the Wolf: Bird Diverts the Wolf
The Inside: Jamming - Bob Marleu
The Outcome: Popsicle - Talking Heads
Well, the Covering is cruel.
The…
catdynamics | February 1, 2007Last month I pondered what was involved in actually sending in those extra combat brigades.
Apparently I am not the only one
Congressional Budget Office plays scale games too
To reflect some of the uncertainty about the number of support troops, CBO
developed its estimates on the basis of two alternative assumptions. In one scenario, CBO assumed that additional support troops would be deployed in the same proportion to combat troops that currently exists in Iraq. That approach would require about 28,000 support troops in addition to the 20,000 combat troops--a total of 48,000. CBO also…
catdynamics | February 1, 2007in case anyone was wondering, the USS Truman is in the Atlantic, doing fligh deck certification;
the USS Roosevelt is apparently due to deploy in March. Presumably to the Med?
The USS Nimitz is in the Pacific - just normal exercising, so they don't go rusty.
No signs of submarines moving out in excess numbers.
PS: an aside comment in the last 24 hours claims the USS Nimitz is now deployed to support GWoT.
This is not confirmed, but worrying if so, since I have not seen an official announcement on it and she is not due to leave for a while.
Could just be someone who equates "at sea" with "…
catdynamics | February 1, 2007Effect Measure has a good post on economics of war and casualties
which comes from this research
sometimes it is intrinsically good to link...
catdynamics | February 1, 2007I've been worrying about the peculiar signing statement for HR 5631, the 2007 Department of Defense Appropriations bill.
Andy Foland asks why the executive needs emergency exception for research
To cut a long story short, and I Am Not A Lawyer, I read the signing statement as a claim that the purported "unitary executive" can:
1) ignore Boland Amendment like restrictions on DoD funding after the appropriations bill is signed
2) initiate new classified actions without clearing it with Congress (claims consultation with Congress is courtesy, not mandatory)
3) and, can initiate new purchases,…
catdynamics | January 26, 2007Freezin' Friday, and we ask, most humbly, knowing that the answer is subject to the all too human vagaries of the Dreaded TAC: oh, Mighty iPod, what will the outcome of Cycle 16 HST call for proposals be?
Whoosh goes the randomizer.
Whoosh.
The Covering: The Price I Pay - Billy Bragg
The Crossing: John Henry - Bruce Springsteen
The Crown: Carnival of the Animals: Fossils
The Root: Carnival of the Animals: Aviary
The Past: Jingle Bells
The Future: Emenius Sleepus - Greend Day
The Questioner: Is There Anybody Out There? - Pink Floyd
The House: Train Train - Billy Bragg
The Inside:…
catdynamics | January 26, 2007FireDogLake has been transcribing the "Scooter Libby trial" with lawyerly comments and snark.
Worth glancing through, if you didn't know of it.
And links are an intrinsic good, dontcha know.
catdynamics | January 25, 2007The USS Reagan Carrier Strike Group is surging - it will forward deploy to the western pacific next week.
That makes three.
Caveat...
...this is to backstop the Kitty Hawk which is going in for maintenance in harbour in Japan.
The Stennis was supposed to cover the Kitty Hawk, but was deployed early to the Persian Gulf, which puts two Carrier Strike Groups (Eisenhower and Stennis) and two Expeditionary Strike Groups (Boxer and Baatan) in or near the Persian Gulf starting early Feb or so.Status of the Navy - dynamically updated web page
Now, you can't do anything silly with just two CSGs and…
catdynamics | January 24, 2007Jake still doesn't get it, I'll give Mike some credit and say he gets it, but he's been lucky.
Taking children on planes is a problem; young children have short attention spans, are impatient and throw tantrums. Having taken my pair transcontinental a few times I know the issues, I've had a couple of medium sized incidents but nothing really bad. I've seen serious tantrums and hours of crying from children of other travelers. Including the little brat who batted the top of our heads, hard, for a whole 4 hours, and spilled his juice on my wife (someone else's sitting in the row behind us).
But…
catdynamics | January 23, 2007Afarensis goes sappy
Avoiding the obvious counter, I go with Tender Comrade.
"My Youngest Son Came Home Today" seems to be lost in MyTubes for now, regrettably.
catdynamics | January 23, 2007Darren Barefoot wants people to Get a First Life.
First life has kid pirates, these may occasionally try to travel on planes, much to the horror of people who are rapidly incurring bad kharmic debt.
It is interesting in many other ways: good 3-D graphics; bad dungeonmasters; use of dangly bits; and kid pirates on planes.
In the process we discover the "Second Life" people have a sense of humour and proportion.
T/H Making Light
catdynamics | January 23, 2007Afarensis strikes back in the YouTube lazyblog war, with Black Sabbath's War Pigs
Band Played Waltzing Matilda: starts at 13m40s to the end
sung by some drunk punk at a 1985 live gig.
But all 18m59s are worth sitting through!
catdynamics | January 19, 2007It is strange but true: when writing position papers for federal agencies, listening to a lot of old Icelandic punk is immensely useful for concentrating the mind...
Anyway, 06.06.06. is clearly the best album of 2006, by far.Bubbi, if you must ask - think "the Iggy Pop of Iceland".
Memo to self: next time I do this in a room full of people, make sure external speakers are turned off!
catdynamics | January 18, 2007It is friday, already, in some time zones anyway, and I am entering my fourth day of being closely confined with rather too many of my dear colleagues for 10-12 contiguous hours at an undisclosed location...
...so, it must be time to go to the Mighty iPod One and ask a subtly mysteriously topical question: Oh, Mighty iPod One - is there in fact life on the conjectured water rich "Super-Earths"? And, while we are at it, does it include mighty tentacled cephalopod like beasties?
Click here for hi-res version© Nahks
Whoosh goes the randomizer.
Whoosh.
The Covering: Þrjú hjól undir bílnum -…
catdynamics | January 17, 2007President Bush did do a signing statement on HR 5631 - the 2007 defence appropriations bill
Part of the President's Signing Statement:
"Sections 8007, 8084, and 9005 of the Act prohibit the use of funds to initiate a special access program or a new start program, unless the congressional defense committees receive advance notice. The Supreme Court of the United States has stated that the President's authority to classify and control access to information bearing on the national security flows from the Constitution and does not depend upon a legislative grant of authority. Although the…