Mutterings

Two words: extreme scrabble.

Like probably everyone else here, I’ve seen these signs frequently around Austin but never knew who was behind it. Read below to find out about the $45 million business behind them. Seems like the APD needs to contact the local branch and warn them about littering laws.

“Single?” Lawn Signs Conquer the American Landscape

No matter which side you took in the last two years, consider this: America has elected a black president. 50 years ago it was difficult for a black person to vote, much less hold office. It’s a happy day when we prove a man can be elected commander-in-chief based on his merits, not the color of his skin.

I heard mice scurrying under my bathtub the other night so I made it my mission to rid my house of them. I drove to Lowes the next morning and asked for animal traps; they pointed me to this:

The Havahart live trap for small animals. I bought it, struggled to set it up, put some food in it and the next morning found nothing in it, including the food. This thing is junk. That’s when I thought to myself, “Self, why are you coddling these mice? They have invaded your legal domain. Get medieval, dude!”

Enter the classic Victor mouse trap:

Christine was nice enough to let me borrow hers and you can’t get much simpler than this. I set it up at 10pm last night. The results? 12:30am: dead mouse. 3am: dead mouse. 7am: dead mouse. 7:15am: live mouse caught on tail. 8:30am: dead mouse. It’s not looking good for mice in the neighborhood today.

I don’t know if this is true but it sounds possible, even reasonable. Could our recent “government buying companies but it’s not socialism, we swear” bailout get any worse?

Paulson’s Swindle Revealed

This is a pretty cool idea: a flag which doesn’t represent any particular people or organization, but rather all of humanity.

The Flag of Earth

More government stupidity in the wake of 9/11. Now the government wants more information from you so their no-fly lists are more accurate. Which is useless and misses the entire point. Do you think the 19 fellows on 9/11 were on a terrorist watch list? They weren’t. The failure on 9/11 was allowing those 19 guys on a plane with weapons (boxcutters). There’s no reason to sacrifice privacy for air security. A person’s name, race or religion doesn’t matter: find and remove any possible weapons or explosives and your flight will be smooth and easy. Oddly enough, a terrorist without a gun or bomb is just another person.

Government to Take Over Airline Passenger Vetting

Wedding invitations are going out today and tomorrow. If you get one, please let Tammy know how pretty they are; she’s worked her tail off making them.

I found a track day picture that actually looks decent.

I just got back from an overnight trip to San Francisco to find this giant limb had broken off the large ash tree in my backyard! I glad it didn’t land on my roof. Do you think I need to worry about the tree in general? I looked for termite damage or tunnels and didn’t see anything.

Take 30 minutes and watch Obama and McCain do some schtick.

McCain and Obama at the Al Smith Dinner