Fear of Clowns

July 31, 2005.

// posted by Erik @ 7/31/2005 09:33:00 PM
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Today, I went to a family reunion. We had a whole pig.

// posted by Erik @ 7/30/2005 09:31:00 PM
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An appointment,

President Bush plans to take advantage of the congressional summer vacation by installing John Bolton - his controversial choice to be U.S. ambassador to the United Nations - in the job, according to a report in the Associated Press.

A recess appointment of Bolton. Granted, it's not a lifetime appointment like an appointment to the courts, but the Constitution makes no differentiation - besides, I hope no one wishes to argue that the vetting of our Ambassador to the United Nations should be thorough as thorough can be : most Democrats and some Republicans in the Senate are not ready to consent to the appointment.

The Constitution's obvious intention is not to allow the president a freebie appointment every now and then,

The President shall have power to fill up all vacancies that may happen during the recess of the Senate, by granting commissions which shall expire at the end of their next session

The Whitehouse's argument for the appointment is,

We need our permanent representative in place at the United States [sic] at this critical time. There is an effort underway to move forward on comprehensive reform. We have outlined the comprehensive reforms that we want to see put in place to make sure that the United Nations is an effective multilateral organization.

We do have "our permanent representative in place" at the United Nations, Anne W. Patterson. If they mean "continuity", it seems the Whitehouse ought to call for an up or down vote.

// posted by Erik @ 7/29/2005 11:25:00 PM
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July 29, 2005.

// posted by Erik @ 7/29/2005 08:15:00 PM
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A blog about parrots in Brooklyn ... and Bill Frist offers himself as mincemeat to the pro-life extremists. Bravo for his bravery,

"I am pro-life," Mr. Frist says in the speech, arguing that he can reconcile his support for the science with his own Christian faith. "I believe human life begins at conception."

But at the same time, he says, "I also believe that embryonic stem cell research should be encouraged and supported."

// posted by Erik @ 7/29/2005 12:21:00 AM
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Beautiful Charmin-squeezable clouds today.

// posted by Erik @ 7/28/2005 09:59:00 PM
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July 27, 2005. Due to Olympus' choice to use a "special" USB cord and my smashing of it's connector with the wheel of a chair, I will have to shell out $25 for a new $2 cord and I posted these pictures a day late.

// posted by Erik @ 7/27/2005 07:39:00 PM
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I really like this tent and am glad there seems to be resistance to take it down. Or someone hasn't figured out how to safely take it down yet.

// posted by Erik @ 7/26/2005 08:56:00 PM
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Today, it was chilly again ... 67° when I'm used to 95. Had that wonderful fall feeling.

// posted by Erik @ 7/26/2005 08:43:00 PM
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... Bush jokes.

// posted by Erik @ 7/25/2005 09:31:00 PM
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Today, I was kept in by rain until evening. It was a chilly ride.

- Erik

// posted by Erik @ 7/25/2005 09:26:00 PM
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July 25, 2005.

// posted by Erik @ 7/24/2005 09:02:00 PM
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July 23, 2005. Today, a park policeman stopped and questioned me after I took pictures of a tent set up for the Aquatennial celebration. I probably explained my project more thoroughly to him than I have anyone else. Not because he was grilling me, but because he was interested. I suppose anything is interesting compared to watching an empty tent from a patrol van by yourself.

- Erik

// posted by Erik @ 7/23/2005 09:59:00 PM
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July 212, 2005. Today I saw people with guitars, but I didn't see a bongo player or drum circle. I saw people running and walking, but nobody on a pogo stick. There was a dad and kid playing frisbee and guys playing football on the sand volleyball courts but I didn't see a Buddhist nun running a burrito stand. As always, the outdoor fry stand that smells like frozen seafood in grease but to my knowledge, there was no series of Einstein-Rosen bridges along the path which sent people in and out through the future and pasts of other universes for a million lifetimes and returned them right where and when they were picked up, leaving them ignorant of their incredible journeys.

- Erik

// posted by Erik @ 7/22/2005 09:59:00 PM
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A crystal clear dusk.

// posted by Erik @ 7/21/2005 08:36:00 PM
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July 20, 2005.

// posted by Erik @ 7/20/2005 08:51:00 PM
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Another clear day in a row.

// posted by Erik @ 7/19/2005 07:51:00 PM
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Absolutely clhilly today.

// posted by Erik @ 7/18/2005 09:59:00 PM
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Dusk.

// posted by Erik @ 7/17/2005 09:59:00 PM
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Still very hot!

// posted by Erik @ 7/16/2005 09:25:00 PM
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Yesterday, I observed what I imagine to be the aftermath of a mowing accident.

// posted by Erik @ 7/15/2005 08:11:00 PM
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July 14, 2005.

// posted by Erik @ 7/14/2005 09:16:00 PM
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Today's "water" photo features a huge Northern Pike with my size 13 shoe in the frame for reference.

// posted by Erik @ 7/13/2005 09:59:00 PM
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This evening, attended a presentation Al Gore's presentation on global warming. He's the light blotch near the center of the photo. Other than his introduction to himself ("I'm Al Gore, I once was the next president of the United States"), the most memorable thing he said was, "I know some of you are going to go home and say 'Al boiled that frog!' But that's the one thing you should remember." Maybe you had to be there - it was after he showed cartoon pictures illustrating that if you put a frog in boiling water it jumps out, but if you put in in water and bring it to a boil, it stays in. The point being that we're like the frog in the water coming to a boil.

In addition to all the scary graphs of CO2 and temperature and photos of melting glaciers over the last many decades, he presented some fascinating factoids:

• 25 years ago, the Alaskan tundra was frozen hard enough to drive a vehicle over it 225 days a year; now it's safe less than 100 days a year.
• Antarctica has the highest average elevation of any continent.
• We can't sell cars made in the US to China because our cars don't meet Chinese environmental standards.
• Over the past 10 years, 0% of articles in peer-reviewed scientific journals questioned the reality global warming or whether man contributes to it; Over the same time period, 53% of articles in the popular press questioned whether global warming was real.

Gore was right about remembering the frog: we now have the technology to reverse the emission of greenhouse gases which cause global warming to pre-1970 levels, but we're not implementing the technologies.

// posted by Erik @ 7/12/2005 08:17:00 PM
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Today, someone painted the garbage cans and weedwacked most of the wildflower gardens on the western shore of the lake. I suppose that's what wildflowers are, pretty weeds.

// posted by Erik @ 7/12/2005 08:16:00 PM
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Hot 'n hazy today.

// posted by Erik @ 7/11/2005 09:59:00 PM
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July 10, 2005. Another bell-clear day - and a hot one.

// posted by Erik @ 7/10/2005 09:18:00 PM
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July 9, 2005. First bell-clear day in some time.

// posted by Erik @ 7/09/2005 07:56:00 PM
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James Dobson has a problem with gay and non-white people getting married,

The show had something to offend everyone... featuring a homosexual couple; a black couple; a Hispanic couple (with lots of kids); an Asian couple (who owned a restaurant); a white couple (country-comes-to-town); a devil-worshiping witch (kid you not); and a Republican couple with tattoos.

(Via Atrios via Liquid List.)

// posted by Erik @ 7/08/2005 10:14:00 PM
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A collision with two circus elephants broke a woman's leg in Prague, an elephant speaks like a truck, an elephant kills a man in Malasia, elephants kill fourth man in Jorhat, India in July.

// posted by Erik @ 7/08/2005 09:49:00 PM
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July 8, 2005.

// posted by Erik @ 7/08/2005 09:45:00 PM
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July 7, 2005.

// posted by Erik @ 7/07/2005 09:59:00 PM
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May 14,

July 3,

// posted by Erik @ 7/06/2005 11:29:00 PM
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July 6, 2005. Some quilters in America make pieces with astonishingly complicated and mesmerizing patterns, but leave one error - sometimes quite impossible to find - because only God is perfect.

// posted by Erik @ 7/06/2005 09:59:00 PM
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A bit chilly.

// posted by Erik @ 7/05/2005 09:59:00 PM
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// posted by Erik @ 7/05/2005 03:05:00 PM
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July 4, 2005. Independence Day!

// posted by Erik @ 7/04/2005 09:59:00 PM
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Today, there weren't many people out. I'm telling you, it's the clearness of the sky, not the temperature that brings people out.

// posted by Erik @ 7/03/2005 08:18:00 PM
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July 2, 2005. Today I met Lizzie who does Teardrop Souffle. We had desserts.

// posted by Erik @ 7/02/2005 09:59:00 PM
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Yesterday, I rode through some rain. Today, I don't know if it was the wetness or not, but the front lens cover of my camera went missing. I don't see it anywhere, it's absence brings a bit of a fisheye effect.

// posted by Erik @ 7/01/2005 09:59:00 PM
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